Chamber and committees

Scottish Healthcare Technical Memorandum (SHTM) 03-01 provides information relating to legal requirements, design implications, maintenance and operation of general and specialised ventilation in all types of healthcare premises. This has been supplemented with specific UK-wide guidance on ventilation and COVID-19, particularly for aerosol generating procedures. Patients should not be treated in poorly ventilated areas. There are currently no plans to implement the use of high-efficiency particulate air purifiers across the NHS estate.

NHS Scotland works in partnership with Integrated Authorities, Local Authorities, the third sector and other service providers to deliver care, services and support to people with eating disorders and their families funded from the overall resources they receive from the Scottish Government. The total anticipated spend, including by NHS Scotland on mental health, in 2021/22 is estimated to be in excess of £1.2 billion.

The Scottish Government’s £262.2 million programme budget for mental health and autism in 2021/22 is more than double when compared to the previous year and funds implementation of key priorities and commitments which span different types of need, including many which will contribute directly and indirectly to the treatment of eating disorders.

For example, through NHS Lothian, we continue to fund a national peer support service for those with an eating disorder and their parents and carers at nearly £38,000 this year. Implementation of other commitments to improve care and access to both psychological therapies and children and young people’s mental health services will also have a positive impact on eating disorder services. The Government’s response to the National Review of Eating Disorder Services will also be considered in due course.

The mental health and wellbeing of children and young people is a priority for the Scottish Government and schools play a key role in supporting positive mental health and recognising when children and young people may need additional support.

Prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, we established a mental health in schools working group made up of expertise within the sector. The working group has developed a new mental health professional learning resource for all school staff to support the wellbeing of children and young people within their schools. The resource covers topics such as body image, self-esteem, and talking to children and young people about mental health and wellbeing. This free online professional learning resource will be available in June 2021 and will be open to anyone who wishes to enhance their knowledge and skills. It is primarily aimed at school staff, but anyone who wishes to upskill their knowledge and understanding will be able to access the learning resource.

In addition to this, the National Review of Eating Disorder Services published their recommendations in March 2021, which included recommendations on ensuring that key stakeholders, such as school staff, could identify the signs and symptoms of all eating disorders. We are currently developing our approach to implementing these recommendations.

Public health measures have been implemented at borders to minimise the risk of importation of the virus from foreign travel. Recently, this has included alignment on the traffic light system for international travel which came into effect on 17 May 2021. This applies to all arrivals with a few limited sectoral exemptions where necessary to ensure essential or emergency work can be resumed in Scotland. People returning from overseas charity work are currently not exempt from the restrictions and should refer to the guidance provided. All decisions regarding exemptions are kept under review by the Scottish Government and assessed in the light of the latest scientific evidence.

Coronavirus (COVID-19): international travel and managed isolation (quarantine) - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting children and adults who have hearing loss, sight loss and dual sensory loss to access the health services and social care they need through its National See Hear Strategy .

See Hear provides a strategic framework of action for meeting the needs of people with a sensory impairment and since 2014, the Scottish Government has provided almost £4.5m to establish and support a national network of See Hear Leads and local partnerships between statutory and third sector organisations across every local authority area in Scotland. See Hear partnerships are responsible for identifying local priorities, developing work streams, timescales and implementation plans, based on local priorities and need.

In addition, the Scottish Government provides funding for the Scottish Sensory Hub, based in the ALLIANCE which was launched earlier this year. It hosts the See Hear National Coordinator, along with deafscotland, and the Scottish Council on Visual Impairment (SCOVI). It will facilitate collaboration between the Deaf, Deafened, Hard of Hearing, Deafblind and Sight Loss sectors and develop a rich resource base of expertise, skills and knowledge for people with sensory loss and those who work in this field.

The Scottish Government also continues to fund and support the contactSCOTLAND - BSL online interpreting Video Relay Service, which enables Deaf and Deafblind British Sign Language (BSL) users to telephone, via video relay interpreters, private sector numbers as well as statutory and third sector numbers, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Further, the British Sign Language (BSL): National Plan 2017-2023 sets out in detail the actions the Scottish Government is currently taking, and working towards, to help ensure deaf and deafblind BSL users are fully involved in all aspects of daily and public life. The BSL National Plan can be accessed online here: British Sign Language (BSL): National Plan 2017 to 2023 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Dog and puppy training businesses have been permitted to be open for normal operation of training classes since the easing of restrictions on‎ 26 April 2021. Those participating in any dog or puppy training should practice physical distancing and preventative hygiene to protect themselves and the persons with whom they are working.

Plans on the assessment approach for National courses in 2021-2022 are being considered by the National Qualifications 2021 Group based on the latest public health advice. SQA has also been engaging on assessment modifications for next year with teachers through its National Qualifications Support Teams for each subject. Contingency arrangements will be considered to allow for any further disruption to learning that may occur.

A decision will be made in time to allow schools and colleges to plan for delivery from the start of the 2021-2022 academic session.

Advice from clinicians is to continue to use PCR testing for international travellers coming to Scotland, which is more accurate than other forms of testing. We will consider lateral flow testing further as technology improves and more data is available. Regardless of any testing regime, individuals should be following strict protocols set out to minimise transmission.

For outbound travel, each country has its own requirements for entry and lateral flow test kits may not meet the required standard of test for certain countries. It is the responsibility of the individual to determine what is needed before travelling to another country and we would encourage people to carefully check those requirements before travelling. NHS test kits cannot be used for people travelling to another country to ensure that all testing capacity is used for the benefit of Scotland’s communities.