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The numbers of Community First Responders (CFRs) that were allocated to and attended incidents in the last financial year are presented in the table below. For safety reasons as a result of Covid, Community First Responders were stood down for a six month period in 2020. The required training for remobilisation of all volunteers and CFR schemes extended into 2021.

Please note that if two Community First Responders were allocated to the same incident, then they will both be counted.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-07939 on 29 April 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 .

NHS Boards are responsible for managing their resources to meet the needs of their population’s workforce and in line with local and national priorities.

The information requested is not collected or held centrally by the Scottish Government and would require to be obtained from Health Boards.

The Scottish Government has supported the men’s sheds movement in Scotland since 2016 with sustained core funding provided to the national support organisation, the Scottish Mens Sheds Association (SMSA), which has enabled them to grow the men’s sheds movement here in Scotland year on year.

We are aware of their contribution to the preventative health agenda, tackling social isolation and loneliness, and their impact on our wider community empowerment ambitions, and that is why we continue to support the growth of men’s sheds.

Scottish Government is currently working with the SMSA and their Executive Officer Jason Schroeder, to agree the necessary support for this year that will help them continue to grow the movement here in Scotland.

Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) Guideline 122 on the prevention and management of venous thromboembolism (VTE) was first published in December 2010. Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS), of which SIGN is a part, carried out awareness raising activity following publication which included the following:

• As an aid to standardising the information provided to patients on VTE across Scotland, the text of the model patient advice leaflets on DVT, which the Chief Medical Officer sent to all NHS Boards in January 2008, was included in appendices to the guideline.
• In April 2011 an information leaflet on deep vein thrombosis (DVT) for the general public was made available for download from the SIGN website. Distribution of paper copies was led by the SIGN Patient Involvement Officer.
• Work with its partners to embed the Guideline’s recommendations into general practice decision-making software.

Subsequently, Healthcare Improvement Scotland took forward work on VTE as part of the Scottish Patient Safety Programme.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on spend relating to the above work.

The Scottish Government remains committed to achieving the 2024 elimination of hepatitis C target; however, we must acknowledge the impact that the Covid-19 pandemic has had on all our health services.

We are working closely with the Scottish Health Protection Network hepatitis C Elimination group and Public Health Scotland to understand the current Hepatitis data. We are actively considering where focused interventions would bring about the biggest impact and support us to reach our target of elimination. We intend to include concrete proposals in the next iteration of the sexual Health and Blood Borne Viruses Framework, which we expect to publish later this year.

Work on the refresh of the Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Framework is underway. It is anticipated that it will be published in Autumn 2022.

Guidance on accessing COVID-19 treatment is provided on NHS Inform . Notably, there are different treatment options available for different groups of individuals who are thought to be at higher risk from COVID-19. The online guidance states that individuals with health conditions which mean they may be eligible for COVID-19 treatments should contact the health board where they live in the first instance. This is because an individual’s home health board will have access to more information about the individual to be able to support any requirements to confirm their eligibility. Where the individual is temporarily resident in another part of Scotland, or another part of the UK, they should contact their home health board who will support them in accessing their closest treatment service.

Within Scottish Government Core Directorates no civil servants have a contractual notice period that is excess of 3 months following their resignation from employment and therefore no liability exists in that regard. The Civil Service Management Code, published by the UK Government, sets out the notice arrangements that we must give our employees in relation to the termination of their employment.

The resignation notice periods for civil servants in Scottish Government Core Directorates is as follows:

• Senior Civil Servants - 3 months, as set by the Civil Service Management Code
• Special Advisers - 5 weeks, as set by contract and stipulated by Cabinet Office
• Scottish Government delegated grades:
• Band C - 3 months
• All other staff - 1 month

The notice periods for delegated grades have been in place for many years, and pre-date the delegation of terms and conditions of employment to civil service employers.