Seòmar agus comataidhean

I refer the member to answer S5W-35127 on 5 March 2021. 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 .

Local authorities are working in partnership with health boards to provide information on travel to vaccination centres including the provision of community transport if appropriate. In remote and rural areas local authorities are supporting transportation and in some places mobile vaccination facilities are being used to reach people.

We are asking people to attend the appointments they have been allocated if they possibly can. We would encourage people to accept that they may not necessarily be given an appointment at the centre closest to them, as the principle objective is to vaccinate as many people as we possibly can as fast as we can. However, in instances where individuals are unable to travel due to a mobility issue, complex medical need or other we would ask them to phone the national Covid Vaccination Appointment booking number to book an appointment at a more convenient location.

If the nature of the person’s condition means that they cannot travel at all, Service Now should pass that call to the local health board call handlers to arrange a more local solution which would be either at their GP Practice or to be vaccinated in their own home if they are housebound.

Health boards are responsible for ensuring venues are accessible and will make appropriate adjustment to ensure that all vaccination sites are accessible to all. Responsibilities are set out in the Equalities Act 2010 and other relevant legislation such as the Social Care ( Self-Directed Support ) Act 2013.

The Scottish Government is working with the voluntary and third sector to set up a centralised volunteer coordination hub to make good use of the locally offered support and in particular for deployment at mass vaccination clinics and to help people who need assistance to access local clinics.

For those who are housebound, there will be domiciliary visits (either by the community nursing team attached to the health centre or a community vaccination team.

Anyone who has been called forward for a vaccine and who would like additional help, should call the Scottish COVID-19 Vaccination Helpline (0800 030 8013).

The JCVI group has considered evidence and all factors including age, ethnicity occupation and additional vulnerabilities and concluded that rapid vaccine deployment is the most important means to maximise public health benefits against severe outcomes from COVID-19.

The JCVI also recommends a particular focus through communications and outreach on promoting uptake of the vaccination in Phase 2 for those who are in particular minority ethnic communities such as ethnic minorities or travellers and for those who are obese/morbidly obese, and those experiencing socio-economic deprivation.

The Scottish Government is working with faith based, third sector and community groups to reach out to more people from deprived communities to increase the vaccine uptake.

We have put in place financial and practical support to ensure all parts of our community have the knowledge and confidence to participate in this vaccination programme and to remove any practical barriers.

The above mentioned steps will ensure that vaccine information is accessible and culturally appropriate – and delivered by trusted voices such as community leaders.

We are on course to exceed our target of recruiting 250 Community Link Workers across Scotland by the end of the Parliament. As of March 2020 there were 217 Community Link Workers in post, all of whom have played a crucial role in supporting patients during the pandemic and helping those who are shielding.

To date, our latest management information indicates a wastage rate of around only 1.8% - well below our planning assumption of 5%, which is a precautionary approach for worst case scenarios and in line with global best practice.

Following extensive research to determine motivations to vaccinate we launched a mass communication public health marketing campaign ‘Roll up your sleeves’ to promote the roll out of the vaccine programme, on 21 st January. The Roll Up Your Sleeves campaign will run across TV, radio, outdoor, press, PR and social media channels until end March and plans are in place for future phases of the activity to support the younger audiences and encourage vaccine uptake.

The campaign will reach a very large (99.1%) of all adults (4.36m) in Scotland who will see the advertising a minimum of 20.6 times. The campaign signposts the public to a national helpline and to NHS Inform where more further detailed information on the vaccine programme is available and is updated regularly.

In the national programme we have the workforce and the infrastructure capacity to vaccinate 400,000 people, supply permitting. Vaccination will take place in care homes, where needed into people’s own homes, through GP surgeries, local vaccination clinics, community pharmacies, mobile vaccination units and mass vaccination centres. The locations used will be chosen to maximise the number we can vaccinate while making it as accessible and easy as possible for people to come to their appointment.

We want to vaccinate as many people as quickly as possible and are continually working hard to see if distribution can be made faster. Our Chief Pharmaceutical Officer wrote on to all GPs and Health Boards explaining in more detail the mechanism of supply, ordering and delivery, with suggested solutions at local board level including the local pharmacies that can also assist them. We are in regular contact with boards to ensure GPs have the most up to date information on when supply is available and what our expectations are for them.

We follow JCVI guidance on priority including any clinical guidance on vaccine use they recommend.

The Armed Forces are supporting planning activity at a national and local level. They are helping to ensure that by the time sufficient vaccination supplies are in place, we have the facility to deliver around 400,000 doses per week by the end of February.

This includes identifying and operationalising vaccine sites before handing them over to NHS Scotland staff.

We call on armed forces support as and when it is needed, and are conscious of the demands on their time, given the pressures that NHS hospitals in England have been under.

Should health boards require additional support, we will consider extending the Military Aid to Civil Authorities (MACA) request, depending on individual requirements.

All NHS Scotland Health Boards have been offered military support and these boards continue to respond effectively to the needs of their communities.