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The Scottish Government has not provided direct funding to third sector organisations to provide footcare services for vulnerable and older people.

Funding is provided to third sector organisations, including those that support vulnerable and older people, from across Scottish Government portfolios and is not collated centrally.

Remobilisation of Dermatology services within NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde (GGC) is continuing across all sites.

In common with many other specialties, services have experienced workforce challenges; however, the dermatology multidisciplinary team are working together to maximise service delivery.

Urgent referrals continue to be prioritised on clinical grounds, while the service is making every effort to work towards a reduction in the maximum waiting times for routine patients.

The GGC Dermatology service are also working nationally with colleagues in the Centre for Sustainable Delivery on new ways of working, with developments in the use of technology to support patient care.

The Scottish Government is clear that any member of staff in NHS Scotland with concerns about any aspect of delivering healthcare has the right to raise their concerns and to have them addressed accordingly.

The Scottish Government expects all Health Boards at a local level to ensure frontline staff from all clinical groups receive the protective equipment they require.

At a national level, where there are a range of sizing options available NHS National Services Scotland buys and makes available a wide range of PPE to ensure that there is a suitable range of items to suit the majority of needs.

I refer the member to answer to question S6W-06660 on 4 March 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 .

Throughout the pandemic we have refined the COVID-19 and flu appointment scheduling system, working directly with Health Boards and Health and Social Care Partnerships to incorporate their feedback and improve processes.

We have increased the number of training sessions with scheduling staff, developed comprehensive online guidance that can be referred to at any time and we continue to work closely with Boards and Health and Social Care Partnerships where specific issues arise. A dedicated review process is in place for this and any learning is then disseminated to other Boards as required.

In instances where staff are sick absences may occur at short notice which cannot be foreseen, and bank cover staff are not always available at short notice to replace staff. Every effort is made to ensure there is sufficient vaccinators on site, however, as appointments are created and scheduled weeks in advance therefore local issues may arise.

Greater Glasgow and Clyde has put measures in place to try and reduce wait times and queues at its clinics by ensuring appropriate measures are in place to manage queues safely and effectively. For example, advising members of the public to arrive as close to their scheduled appointment time as possible to avoid queues.

The number of appointments available at clinics are based on the number of staff available on a given date. For example, if there are three vaccinators available at a clinic at 9am on a specific date then 3 appointments would be available to allocate for that time slot.

To provide patients with some reassurance around the possible length of their wait, the Scottish Government have launched a new online platform, which is available at https://www.nhsinform.scot/waiting-times . Developed in conjunction with NHS 24 and PHS, the platform provides patients with information on planned care waiting times by giving an indication of how long patients typically waited over the last quarter. This includes information on the number of patients admitted for treatment as well as the typical wait experienced by people during this time period.

We recognise the impact that long waiting times can have on a patient’s mental health, so the platform also includes information for patients to keep as fit and healthy as possible while waiting for treatment. In addition, the Healthy living | NHS inform page provides advice and tools which includes information on mental wellbeing.

In an effort to reduce the waiting time for patients awaiting cataract surgery, Health Boards across NHSScotland are undertaking additional cataract surgical sessions and independent sector contractors are providing additional support, within NHS facilities, to increase the number of cataract procedures delivered. This will reduce the overall number of patients waiting for surgery as well as their length of wait.

In tandem with this – and in line with guidance from the Royal College of Ophthalmologists - Scottish Government clinically led peer reviews are taking place across all Health Boards. Supporting teams to adopt more efficient ways of working in order to increase the number of patients that can be treated within each cataract only surgical session forms part of these reviews.

Sequential bilateral cataract surgery is also undertaken by some surgeons, particularly in remote and rural areas and where patients’ ability to work has been affected. This prevents duplication of effort across the patient’s journey, as well as reducing the carbon footprint.

The Scottish Government has also commissioned the Centre for Sustainable Delivery (CfSD) to support an increase in theatre productivity, including the development of a national Blueprint which will outline how Health Boards can increase efficiency across the cataract surgical journey. This will be disseminated to all Health Boards in the coming weeks.

The Scottish Government assesses the need for public health awareness campaigns regularly. Scottish Government officials will work closely with the Stroke Improvement Team, which provides support and guidance to Managed Clinical Networks and the National Advisory Committee for Stroke, and other stakeholders to better understand what resources may be required for 2023, including the need for funding for a FAST campaign. Information regarding the symptoms of stroke, including the FAST test, is available on NHS Inform .

It is important to note that resilience of the Communications Sector, which includes telecommunications and internet, is reserved and therefore the responsibility of the UK Government.

The Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) is operator-owned and the operators are entitled to replace or remove it, so long as they continue to meet their regulatory obligations.

To ensure that consumers can still make emergency calls during a power cut, Ofcom has placed regulatory obligations on telecoms providers.?

The guidance states that providers must have at least one solution (such as a battery back-up unit or means to connect to a mobile network) available that enables customers to access emergency organisations for a minimum of one hour in the event of a power cut, and that it must be offered free of charge to customers who are at risk as they are dependent on their landline.

The Scottish Government will continue to engage closely with the UK Government and the regulator (Ofcom) for assurance that resilience of the telecoms network in Scotland is a priority.