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Limited information is published in the Stage of Treatment publication on cancellation by service rates. You will find this information at: Stage of treatment waiting times - Inpatients, day cases and new outpatients 30 November 2021 - NHS waiting times - stage of treatment - Publications - Public Health Scotland

Information covering October 2021 to December 2021 will be published by PHS in February 2022.

There have been no meetings between the myself and BDA Scotland since 1 September.

Meetings between officials and BDA Scotland take place routinely and the Cabinet Secretary is fully briefed on these discussions.

The Scottish Government recognises the negative impact that long COVID can have on the health and wellbeing of those affected. We are already taking action to ensure that people are supported in the most appropriate way possible, and are committed to do more.

We have published our approach paper which sets out 16 commitments to improve care and support for people with long COVID in Scotland.

Our approach outlines the work we are doing, with partners, to strengthen the key elements of care for people with long COVID - accessed through; supported self-management, assessment provided within primary and community care, rehabilitation support and; secondary care investigation and support where required.

Our commitments are backed by a £10 million ‘Long COVID Support Fund’, which will provide additional resource to strengthen services for people with long COVID across Scotland, by bolstering the capacity of existing NHS services, enabling improved care co-ordination and supporting staff education and training needs.

We are continuing to support clinicians to access evidence based information and advice on long COVID, to inform assessments, investigations and referrals for patients.

We are also funding nine Scottish-led research projects with a total funding commitment of £2.5m to improve understanding of the long-term effects of COVID-19 on physical and mental health, and help with developing effective clinical interventions to support recovery and rehabilitation.

Our review process has been informed by the latest evidence from public opinion as well as the clinical and scientific literature, and from international experience. We published an updated evidence paper on the COVID-19 status certification scheme on Friday 19 November 2021.

Understanding the effects of the scheme, and how it is being implemented, requires data about the use of the technology, vaccinations, and the impact on society and the economy. However, it is challenging to isolate the effects of any one element of the Covid response.

Vaccine uptake has slightly increased since the scheme was announced, although it is not possible to directly attribute rises to the introduction of certification. The proportion of those aged 12+ with a first dose rose from 86.0% to 90.5% and a second dose rose from 77.6% to 82.2%.

The majority of Lateral Flow Tests are distributed through the UK 4 nations National Testing Programme and a detailed breakdown is not available. Information on the number of Lateral Flow Tests used and reported in Scotland is published weekly by Public Health Scotland.

Information on the amount of people living with dystonia in each NHS board area is not held centrally by the Scottish Government or Public Health Scotland (PHS).

The Scottish Government has submitted a request through NHS Scotland’s Scottish Primary Care Information Request (SPIRE), which holds information from GP patient records, to better understand prevalence amongst neurological conditions including dystonia. We expect this data to be collected in 2022.

A total of 22,635 dental staff are registered on the Vaccine Management Tool (VMT). This includes both dentists and dental nurses.

These staff would register voluntarily, as independent contractors, on the relevant staff bank of their health board, and book shifts via that system, which does not constitute secondment.

NHS Boards will be allocated the £30 million to support GP practices in two tranches based upon their practices’ weighted share of registered patients under the Scottish Workload Formula at the time of the allocation. The following table provides an indication of what the first NHS Board allocation will be based upon practice shares of patients in October 2021.

From January 2019 to June 2021, 150 samples were collected from these areas. Of these samples, 141 underwent potable testing, and only one sample, collected from 4B in November 2019 breached the high-risk threshold for organism counts at 37°.

NHS GG&C have made a number of changes to practices and procedures following water sampling assessments. The taps and showers used in 4A and 4B are now fitted with 0.2 micron water filters, routine sampling and testing is carried out from non-filtered water services, and more widespread sample testing is carried out.