Seòmar agus comataidhean

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-28124 on 20 April 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 international standard for an appropriate pandemic response is to double ICU capacity. NHS Scotland has more than trebled its adult ICU capacity, from a base of 173 beds to a surge capacity of 585. These beds will be brought into use as needs dictate, on a daily basis. Given the scale of the current emergency, we have asked Health Boards to go further by preparing to quadruple the base ICU capacity; bringing the total number of adult beds to over 700.

This increase in ICU bed capacity includes increased staffing delivered through internal redeployment supported by education and training which is being locally provided to meet the needs of each Board. The Chief Nursing Officer issued guidance to all Boards to support the deployment of Nursing, AHP, Pharmacy and other staff in Critical Care.

There will be no changes to NHS laundry services until we have addressed the current Covid-19 situation.

The Scottish Infected Blood Support Scheme makes payments to individuals infected with HIV and/or Hepatitis C by infected NHS blood or blood products. The Scheme also makes payments to beneficiaries' spouses, civil partners, long-term cohabitees, or dependent children following their death. Where an infected person has died and had not previously received a lump sum payment from the Scheme or one of the former UK-wide schemes, the beneficiaries of their estate, which could include parents or adult child carers, can receive this lump sum payment.

The Scheme also provides support and assistance grants, which can be used by parents or adult child carers providing care to their infected relatives, for example to pay for a carer(s). These grants normally need to be applied for by the scheme beneficiary, although where the beneficiary does not have the capacity to apply themselves due to a particular disability or notifies the Scheme that they want a named person to be able to correspond with the Scheme for them then a relative or other trusted person can apply on their behalf.

The Scottish Government is committed to keeping staff across the NHS safe, including ensuring continued access to appropriate personal protective equipment.

NHS National Services Scotland are keeping the position with NHS supplies under constant review as the coronavirus outbreak develops and we are working with them to ensure stocks are maintained so we can continue to protect those who need it. Health Boards also have means to notify NHS National Procurement of any supply issues, in order that they can quickly be rectified.

Additional deliveries of PPE are also being made to GP Practices, including facemasks, aprons, gloves and eye protection, in line with Health Protection Scotland guidance.

NHS National Services for Scotland have also established a triage centre to help provide supplies of PPE for registered social care providers. This went live on 19 March and has started to arrange deliveries of various items of PPE to providers across the country.

The global supply chain position remains challenging and we are working with partners within Scotland, across the 4 UK nations and globally to ensure continued supply.

On behalf of all Scottish Health Boards, NHS National Procurement is working with the two contracted suppliers to NHS Scotland to co-ordinate the supply of bulk liquid oxygen stored in tanks and piped throughout hospitals, as well as medical gases supplied within cylinders. Both suppliers have robust contingency plans in place to secure the future supplies of oxygen, as well as cover for delivery drivers and staff. Planning is taking into account the anticipated increased usage levels and number of deliveries required over the coming months. This approach is also being shared with all Health Boards.

Contingency planning is also being undertaken in respect of oxygen used in community settings. An order has been placed for 750 new oxygen concentrators for use in the community, as well as potentially in hospital and other settings, as well as further contingency which can be called on if necessary.

Health Protection Scotland (HPS) has developed specific guidance for social or community care and residential settings on COVID-19 to support those working in the social care sector. It is based on the National Infection Prevention & Control Manual and includes advice on how to prevent the spread of all respiratory infections, including COVID-19, with social care setting-specific information and advice

There is a dedicated helpline for all registered social care providers – including those providing care and support to people in their homes – to call if they are working with people who have confirmed or suspected COVID-19 and have an urgent need for additional Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). We are asking social care providers to fully explore their business as usual procurement routes for PPE before they contact the centre, to ensure that the triage service can prioritise stock for critical cases.

The triage service is being facilitated by NHS National Services for Scotland (NHS NSS).

We are working quickly to roll out the triage arrangements more widely, including access for unpaid carers and personal assistants. The situation is developing rapidly, and we expect to confirm the new arrangements in the coming days.

The information requested on how many diabetes specialist nurses there are, broken down by NHS Board, is not currently available.

Due to data quality concerns, some NHS Boards have asked for their Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) data not to be published while these issues are addressed. ISD is currently reviewing the CNS definition, role and specialty categories and will continue to work with Boards on improved recording going forward.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that the people of Scotland who require diabetes care are able to receive the best possible care and support and benefit from healthcare services that are safe, effective and put the patient at the centre of their care.

On 16 December 2019, the Scottish Government and COSLA published the first Integrated National Health and Social Care Workforce Plan in the UK. The Integrated Plan sets out how health and social care services will meet growing demand to ensure we have the right numbers of staff, with the right skills, across health and social care services. I therefore expect NHS Boards to develop robust workforce plans which take into account any potential need for more diabetes specialist nurses.

In addition, The Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act will support the wider workforce planning process by enabling a rigorous evidence based approach to staffing decisions. It recognises the dynamic nature of healthcare and places a duty on NHS Boards to assess and respond to staffing pressures in real-time. There is an existing workload tool for nurse specialists which NHS Boards will be required to apply as part of the wider common staffing method defined in the Act. The output of this method will determine staffing requirements to ensure safe, effective high quality care can be provided to this patient group.

We published the draft Respiratory Care Action Plan for Scotland for consultation on 20 December 2020. The consultation was due to run until 3 April 2020, however, due to the on-going situation with COVID-19 we have extended the consultation to 3 July 2020.

This will be reviewed in June and will be extended further if required, in recognition of the fact that COVID-19 may have implications and consequences for many aspects of respiratory care going forward, including pulmonary rehabilitation.

In the meantime, public health advice is regularly updated and can be found at: Coronavirus (COVID-19) on NHS Inform and at Public Health Scotland: https://www.hps.scot.nhs.uk/a-to-z-of-topics/covid-19/ .

The advice on the these websites is being constantly reviewed and updated based on the developing evidence base to ensure information relevant to specific vulnerable groups is included and up-to-date.

The single most important action we can all take in fighting coronavirus is to stay at home in order to protect the NHS and save lives.

• Only go outside for essential food, health and work reasons
• Stay 2 metres (6 feet) away from other people
• Wash your hands regularly and wash your hands as soon as you get home
• Do not meet others, even friends or family

Hepatitis c and HIV treatment is delivered by territorial NHS Boards in Scotland, using funding from the core grant they each receive from the Scottish Government. This treatment provided by NHS Boards includes providing specialist care for patients infected via infected NHS blood or blood products. The Scottish Government is committed to the effective elimination of hepatitis c in Scotland by 2024.