Chamber and committees

In order to monitor the impact of COVID-19 on people who use drugs, Scottish Government commissioned Public Health Scotland (PHS) to undertake surveillance on key indicators, including the use of needle exchange services and the provision of OST.

Based on the management information provided by PHS we are aware that there were sharp falls in the number of clients and transactions at Injecting Equipment Provision (IEP) sites across mainland Scotland immediately prior to the introduction of COVID-19 lockdown measures on 23 March 2020, compared with the pre-lockdown period and with 2019. Numbers of clients and transactions have increased in recent months, but activity remains proportionately lower than in 2019.

With regards to opioid substitution Therapy (OST) prescribing, real-time data from a subset of primary care practitioners indicates changes in the pattern of methadone and buprenorphine prescribing during the COVID-19 pandemic. For both drugs, the number of items prescribed per week and the quantity of drug prescribed per item increased prior to the introduction of COVID-19 lockdown measures on 23 March 2020. Following the introduction of lockdown measures, weekly numbers of OST items prescribed decreased sharply to a level that was below their pre-COVID average, while the quantity of drug prescribed per item remained above the pre-COVID-19 average. This suggests that prescribing continued throughout the COVID-19 lockdown period but that dispensing arrangements modified as a consequence of the introduction of physical distancing measures continue to be in place.

The Scottish Government fully recognises the essential nature of drug and alcohol treatment and support services, and it is for that reason that we, alongside the Drug Death Taskforce, took forward a range of work to ensure services remained effective during the pandemic. We also provided over £2 million for a package of measures to ensure additional help and support for those most at risk as a result of their drug and alcohol use.

A virtual meeting with A83 stakeholders was held on 18 November. The meeting provided an opportunity to update stakeholders on the ongoing events on the Rest and Be Thankful hillside and provide them with an opportunity to raise concerns about the ongoing impact of the A83 closure and the resilience of the Old Military Road diversion.

Transport Scotland will continue to keep stakeholders up to date with options for a permanent solution at the A83.

This data was published for the first time by Public Health Scotland (PHS) on Wednesday 18th November and shows 3,059 (90.7%) of 3,371 eligible staff took up the offer of testing in specialist cancer services for the week 6th - 12th November.

In 2020-21 there have been no reductions to Scottish Government allocations to NHS Board Budgets specifically to support alcohol and drug services. Further information is available here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/alcohol-and-drug-partnerships-funding-allocations/ .

Home visits are part of the Childsmile Core Programme managed by the NHS Boards rather than the Childsmile Practice Programme and I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-33247 on 2 December 2020. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .

The information requested is not held centrally. This is a matter for NHS Boards or the Childsmile Programme which may be contacted at the following web address:

http://www.child-smile.org.uk/contacts/programme-managers-and-directors.aspx

I refer the member to my answer to question S5W-32346 on 2 November 2020 . All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .

The Childsmile Programme is not remobilised. Supervised tooth brushing in nursery and school settings will resume as soon as these establishments are able to accommodate these programmes. The provisional date for restarting these programmes is in the early part of 2021.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-33247 on 2 December 2020. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .

The Scottish Government has allocated a total of £6m in additional funding to provide extra scanning capacity between July 2020 and March 2021. This funding will support remobilisation planning and delivery for diagnostic imaging services, and facilitate a progressive reduction in the backlog of elective imaging. This funding will directly support 6 staffed MRI scanners and 3 CT scanners, 2 of which are based at NHS Louisa Jordan and are managed by NHS Golden Jubilee. In addition, health boards have developed initiatives to provide additional in-house and external capacity to further support local remobilisation planning, supported by this funding.

Whilst routine outpatient imaging services were suspended during the pandemic peak, throughout the pandemic, diagnostic imaging services have continued to provide a 24/7 service for all in-patient and emergency referrals, and service has continued for all those referrals triaged as urgent or urgent suspicion of cancer. These patients continue to be seen as a priority. We continue to look actively at the throughput for diagnostic imaging services, though capacity is necessarily impacted by the need to maintain appropriate physical distancing, and other infection prevention and control requirements.