- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 November 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 25 November 2021
To ask the Scottish Government whether the privacy information on the NHS Scotland COVID Status App, which states that personal data of users will be shared with NetCompany, Service Now, Jumio, iProov, Albasoft, Amazon Web Services, CFH Docmail, Microsoft Azure, Gov.uk Notify Service and Royal Mail, relates to as yet inactive app functionalities, and for what purpose these permissions were sought.
Answer
No. If, and when, any additional functions are added to the NHS Scotland Covid Status App then the privacy information will be updated accordingly. For more detail on the current privacy information, I refer the member to the answer to questions S6W-04212 and S6W-04213 on 25 November 2021. 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
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 November 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 25 November 2021
To ask the Scottish Government whether the NHS Scotland COVID Status App shares information with (a) NetCompany, (b) Service Now, (c) Jumio, (d) iProov, (e) Albasoft, (f) Amazon Web Services, (g) CFH Docmail, (h) Microsoft Azure, (i) Gov.uk Notify Service and (j) Royal Mail, and, if so, for what reason.
Answer
The list of companies set out in the privacy notice relate to the Vaccine Programme and the Covid Certification service as a whole, and not just the Covid Status App. So for example, Royal Mail are involved in posting printed certificates to individuals – they have no connection to the Covid Status App.
The Scottish Government and NHS Scotland take privacy and data security seriously. Robust measures have been put in place to ensure all systems and processes within the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Vaccination Programme have been designed with these in mind.
As with most technology of this nature, it is necessary to share some very limited data to ensure services operate effectively. However, NHS Scotland and the Scottish Government have control of this data at all times, and service providers do not have access to the data they process.
The published privacy notice explains:
- the key organisations responsible for the data;
- how those organisations process personal information in relation to coronavirus vaccinations, exemptions and certificates;
- the rights in relation to privacy and personal data; and
- what data is shared with our trusted parties and the reason as per their role in the vaccination programme.
We will only share personal information when the law allows us to do so and to the minimum extent possible.
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 November 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 25 November 2021
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an option for users of the NHS Scotland COVID Status App to opt out of sharing information with NetCompany, Service Now, Jumio, iProov, Albasoft, Amazon Web Services, CFH Docmail, Microsoft Azure, Gov.uk Notify Service and Royal Mail.
Answer
There is a range of digital and non-digital routes available to access COVID-19 Status Certificates, and currently the choice to obtain a certificate is voluntary.
The data processing complies with data protection principles of lawfulness, fairness and transparency, purpose limitation, data minimisation, accuracy, storage limitation, security and accountability as per the Data Protection Act 2018. As the processing of data is necessary for the purposes indicated in the privacy notice , an opt out is not applicable.
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 15 November 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 24 November 2021
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide details of its commitment to provide 1,000 additional staff members in primary care mental health services, including (a) which roles it expects to provide, (b) by what date recruitment for the roles is expected to begin and (c) by what date all 1,000 additional staff are expected to be in place.
Answer
The Scottish Government will hold a debate in the Scottish Parliament before the end of the year to set out its plan to deliver this commitment.
The plan will detail how every General Practice across Scotland will have access to a Mental Health and Wellbeing Service by April 2026, creating 1,000 additional dedicated staff who can help grow community mental health resilience and help direct social prescribing.
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 15 November 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 22 November 2021
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide details of its plans to recruit 320 additional staff in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) over the next five years, and how many additional staff members it expects to have recruited in (a) 2021-22, (b) 2022-23, (c) 2023-24, (d) 2024-25 and (e) 2025-26.
Answer
In our NHS Recovery Plan we have committed to provide sufficient funding for around 320 additional staff in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) over the next 5 years.
Since May 2021, we have allocated approximately £40m to NHS Boards to support CAMHS and the implementation of the National CAMHS Service Specification. Through this funding, NHS Boards have started to recruit additional staff to implement the Specification and to build professional capacity to support children and young people with neurodevelopmental support needs. NHS Boards will recruit a variety of staff in different roles, based on individual service needs.
The breakdown of CAMHS workforce is published on a quarterly basis through the NHS Education for Scotland (NES) CAMHS Workforce publication. This data can be found on the NES Turas Data Intelligence platform and provides a breakdown of staffing per NHS Board in CAMHS, including breakdown of professional role.
The Scottish Government is not responsible for the recruitment of NHS staff. It is NHS Boards’ responsibility to recruit workforce. The Scottish Government has provided guidance to NHS Boards, through the National CAMHS Service and Neurodevelopmental Specifications, on the appropriate roles and professionals expected to be employed within Boards.
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 15 October 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 20 November 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what training is given to COVID-19 vaccinators on aspirating (drawing back) before injection to check that the needle has not gone into a vein.
Answer
Aspiration is not recommended in Scotland and the rest of the UK for the administration of intramuscular COVID-19 vaccines. The clinical recommendation that trained COVID-19 vaccinators work to in Scotland and the UK is to administer the vaccine to the deltoid muscle and not drawing back before injection.
As outlined in the Green Book, Chapter 4, the Chief Nursing Officer recommends the deltoid muscle for COVID-19 vaccine administration and, as there are no large blood vessels in this area, it is not recommend to draw back.
The Green Book, Chapter 4 contains further information on this and is published here: Immunisation procedures: the green book, chapter 4 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) .
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 18 October 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 19 November 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what the average number of patients per GP is in each NHS board.
Answer
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 28 October 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 17 November 2021
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will outline how the capabilities and resources of stroke units meet the full needs of stroke patients and survivors.
Answer
As part of Programme for Government (PfG) commitments made in 2019 and reaffirmed in 2020 we are developing a programme to improve stroke pathways and services.
A progressive stroke pathway document, due by the end of this year, will clearly set out our vision of what we should expect of a progressive stroke service in Scotland in order that services fully meet the needs of people who experience a stroke. This will include consideration of the important role of stroke units.
The Scottish Stroke Care Audit monitors the quality of care provided by the hospitals in all NHS Boards. Access to a stroke unit is a standard measured by SSCA, alongside other standards associated with improved patient outcomes. Performance against the standards, and more detail on service models can be found here: Scottish stroke improvement programme 2021 national report - Scottish stroke improvement programme - Publications - Public Health Scotland .
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 28 October 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 17 November 2021
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an explanation of the variation in thrombolysis rates across Scotland, and whether it has any plans to introduce a nationwide thrombolysis service.
Answer
Thrombolysis is already delivered nationwide in a number of hospitals across Scotland.
The rate of thrombolytic treatment and door to needle (DTN) times for thrombolysis are measured through the Scottish Stroke Care Audit (SSCA).
The SSCA 2021 report can be found here: Scottish stroke improvement programme 2021 national report - Scottish stroke improvement programme - Publications - Public Health Scotland . It concluded that variations in thrombolysis rates were a reflection of the different acute stroke pathways and variable access to stroke specialist assessment and management. It highlighted that improving access to early specialist assessment in emergency departments would increase the overall percentage of stroke patients treated and reduce the DTN times.
The Scottish Stroke Improvement Programme team work closely with services and NHS boards to use learning from SSCA to support improvement across the whole stroke pathway, including timely access to thrombolysis.
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 28 October 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 17 November 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what data is collected regarding people who require ongoing support for disabilities resulting from a stroke.
Answer
The Scottish Stroke Care Audit does not currently measure ongoing support for disability needs. As part of the Programme for Government (PfG) stroke commitments, the stroke improvement team Rehabilitation Sub-Group is currently considering future updates to measure rehabilitation service delivery, patient outcomes and experiences.
All patients who require stroke rehabilitation should be offered it. Rehabilitation may be delivered via a variety of inpatient, early supported discharge and community teams.