Chamber and committees

To relieve some pressure on acute services, NHS Highland took the decision to pause their orthopaedic elective programme through August, and the board are continuing to treat patients on the basis of their clinical urgency and in line with the Clinical Prioritisation Framework.

Last year the Cabinet Secretary for Health and sport published a national Clinical Prioritisation Framework for Supporting Elective Care across NHS Scotland. This Framework sets out the key principles that NHS Boards should follow when considering decisions around prioritising cases on their elective care waiting lists during the COVID-19 pandemic. The expectation is that NHS Boards will follow these principles to categorise patients based on their particular clinical needs, ensuring patients with the greatest need are treated quickest.

We are working proactively with health boards to manage pressures and take rapid action to support increased capacity, including expedited recruitment, flexible deployment of existing staffing and supporting mutual aid across the system.

Moving forward, our NHS Recovery Plan sets out commitments over the next 5 years, backed by over £1 billion of funding, to support an increase in inpatient, daycase, and outpatient activity to address backlogs, which will be supported by the implementation of sustainable improvements and new models of care.

To date, the Scottish Government has provided more than £2 billion to NHS Boards and Integration Authorities, with NHS Western Isles receiving £7.7 million, to address pressures arising from Covid-19.

We will continue to assess the impact of Covid-19, and its financial implications for our health service, in order to ensure that frontline services receive the support that they need throughout the pandemic.

A key objective of the Carbon Neutral Islands project will be to create sustainable economic opportunities including new jobs and businesses, as part of our ambition to create a low carbon economy for Scotland. How we will do this and what jobs and skills island residents and communities want to see created will feature as part of our engagement on the design and development of the project.

By developing Carbon Neutral Islands that attract jobs and investment, the project aims to retain and bring more people to Scottish islands. It will be informed by the development of the Islands Bond policy and align with Strategic Objective One of the National Islands Plan which states that we will address population decline and ensure a healthy, balanced population profile.

The Scottish Government will consult with relevant Local Authorities, island stakeholders and importantly, island communities themselves.

We are still in the early stages of development in relation to the Carbon Neutral Islands project, and are engaging relevant stakeholders to ensure that the voices of islanders are fully heard. It is therefore too soon to determine how much funding will be needed.

Yes.

We are still in the early stages of development in relation to the Carbon Neutral Islands project, and are engaging relevant stakeholders to ensure that the voices of islanders are fully heard. It is therefore too soon to determine how much funding will be allocated.

The £10,000 grant awarded to Voluntary Health Scotland (VHS) to scope the development of the Arts, Culture, Health and Wellbeing Scotland (ACHWS) supported the network to develop an infrastructure, systems and develop a brand identity that would help the network to build their network membership base and their partnerships across the UK.

The grant also supported online events, held in partnership with VHS, such as; Caring, Creativity and Connectedness, The Role of Culture in the Health and Wellbeing of Older People and The Role of Culture in the Health and Wellbeing of Young People. The events promoted knowledge exchange, raised awareness of the network and extended the reach and influence of the network.

Officials from the Scottish Government continue to attend ACHWS meetings to offer support to help build further partnerships across policy and cultural organisations.