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The Scottish Government recognises that certain inhalers have a particularly harmful impact on the environment. This is an area where rapid change is possible and reducing the environmental impact of inhalers must be a priority.

Hydrofluorocarbons used as propellant in metered dose inhalers prescribed for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can have a global warming potential of 1430 or 3220 times greater than CO2 depending on the type of gas used.

A draft NHS Scotland Climate Emergency and Sustainability Strategy is out for consultation until 10 th March 2022. This sets out the Scottish Government’s intention to publish an updated Scottish Quality Respiratory Prescribing guide which will focus on minimising patient over-use of inhalers through review and improving patient outcomes, using propellant free options where possible.

Other actions within the draft strategy include encouraging manufacturers to make inhalers with lower emissions and to support inhaler return to pharmacy schemes to help patients dispose of their used inhalers in a more environmentally friendly way.

The mobile theatre unit, which opened at Gilbert Bain Hospital in Shetland in January 2022, is supporting access to treatment for cataract and orthopaedic patients, who have faced delays in receiving care due to the pandemic and may have otherwise had to travel to the mainland for their procedure. The mobile theatre unit will also allow normal levels of theatre activity to continue through Phase 2 of the NHS Shetland Ambulatory Care capital project which starts in April 2022, preventing waiting lists from increasing significantly during these essential building works.

Throughout the pandemic, health boards across Scotland have been working hard to ensure that vital care remains in place. Any pausing of non-urgent activity has regrettably but inevitably led to a build-up of numbers waiting for Outpatient appointment and/or Inpatient/Day Case treatment. We will continue to work with Boards to recover our NHS through a range of targeted actions to maximise capacity and efficiency, including through the use of mobile theatre units where appropriate.

The information requested on what the total cost is for each NHS board of staff who are on long-term sick leave is not centrally available.

NHS Education for Scotland publish annual data on bank and agency spend for Medical & Dental and Nursing & Midwifery staff. It should be noted that there are a variety of reasons Boards may choose to deploy bank and agency staff and this does not directly represent spending associated with sickness absence.

The data can be found on the TURAS NHS Education for Scotland workforce statistics site at: NHSScotland workforce | Turas Data Intelligence

The information requested on how many staff there are in each NHS Board who are on long-term sick leave is not centrally available.

Sickness absence rates by NHS Board can be found on the TURAS NHS Education for Scotland workforce statistics site at:

NHSScotland workforce | Turas Data Intelligence

This information is not held centrally.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05574 on 20 January 2022. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

This information is not held centrally.

Scottish Government officials met with officials from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) on the 10 February 2022 to discuss the outcome of the roundtable meeting with experts in the clinical field, including from NHS Scotland, held on 19 January 2022 on the use of pulse oximeters.

The outcome is that after considering current available evidence, it is agreed that pulse oximetry continues to be a vital diagnostic device to support remote monitoring of oxygen saturations in the blood and is a useful part of an assessment and monitoring protocol in patients of all skin tones.

The scientific and clinical expert advice is that any loss of confidence in oximeters, leading to a reduced use of devices poses a significant health risk of subsequent harm from undetected deterioration in vulnerable ethnic groups and therefore the continued use of pulse oximeters should continue to be strongly endorsed to patients and clinicians.

Although it was noted that to date there has been no report of patient harm linked to measurement inaccuracies in the UK, it is recognised that further research is required and this is being conducted through an ongoing National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) commission on the diagnostic accuracy of pulse oximeters and how this varies with darker pigmentation and skin tones.

In Scotland, Technology Enabled Care (TEC) Scotland has adopted a conservative approach to the interpretation of pulse oximeter readings to take into account potential discrepancies when used on people with darker pigmentation and skin tones. The NHS Scotland COVID-19 Remote Monitoring Pathway, developed by clinicians and underpinned by digital support, continues to provides additional clinical guidance in the use of pulse oximeters in Scotland.

The Scottish Government will continue to work with the DHSC to ensure that medical devices are safe and effective for all and consider any recommendations coming out of this work that are relevant to the NHS in Scotland.

The Scottish Government expect all stock within the Private Rented Sector to meet any energy efficiency standard set by regulations or to have a valid exemption. The Heat in Buildings Strategy confirms our intention to introduce, subject to consultation, such regulations, where that is technically feasible and cost effective from 2025. We plan to consult during 2022 on these regulations, and this will include details of any exemptions including those linked to cost, tenant rights, what might be technically feasible, and matters relating to compliance and enforcement.

In general, private landlords or letting agents will advertise available properties through a range of ways including online property website portals, property centres, letting agencies and student accommodation services. The Scottish Government does not provide direct advice or support to people who are looking to find a suitable property to rent. General advice regarding renting from a private landlord is however available at Renting property from a private landlord - mygov.scot . Where a person is unable to access suitable accommodation in the private rented sector, individuals should approach their local authority housing department for support if they are homeless or to go onto the housing list. Registered Social landlords can also be approached to go onto the housing list.

The Scottish Government’s Chief Scientist Office is funding an on-going research project to examine how to best identify those at highest risk of lung cancer in the Scottish population. They are subsequently offered a medical check on their ‘lung health’, and screening using Computed Tomography (CT) if their risk of cancer is assessed as high. Results and learning from this work will be appropriately considered once available, and any decisions taken regarding wider rollout.

Any decision on whether or not to introduce a new national lung screening programme in Scotland is guided by the recommendations of the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), an independent expert advisory group which advises all four nations of the United Kingdom on screening policy.In 2007, the UK NSC recommended against the introduction of a lung cancer screening programme; however, it is currently reviewing this and will take into account new evidence that has emerged since the previous recommendation.

We do not have a definite timescale for when the NSC will publish its findings, but we are expecting an update in the coming months. Following completion of this review, the UK NSC will make a new recommendation. If the recommendation is to introduce lung cancer screening then the Scottish Screening Committee, in consultation with medical experts in this field, will advise Scottish Ministers on the most appropriate course of action for Scotland.