Meeting of the Parliament [Draft] Business until 17:09

Meeting date: Tuesday, January 21, 2025

Official Report 865KB pdf

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Topical Question Time

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Flu Vaccine

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will update the Parliament on the supply and availability of the flu vaccine. (S6T-02290)

The Scottish Government has procured ample vaccines for the free national programme, which allows us to vaccinate the groups that the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has advised on—notably, those who are aged 65 and over and those who are clinically at risk. I encourage those who are eligible and who have not been vaccinated to come forward before the programme ends, on 31 March.

The Scottish Government is not responsible for private flu vaccination services for groups who are outside the national programme, but our national supplier has confirmed that it has supplies of vaccine for the under-65 age group available for purchase. That has been communicated to Community Pharmacy Scotland.

I welcome some of the things that the minister said in reply to my question. The pertinence of my question was borne out by last week’s First Minister’s question time, when the First Minister repeated—quite often—that there was an exceptionally high level of flu, and we were being told that our hospitals are at breaking point.

We are also being told—as I think has been borne out by anecdotal evidence supplied by my constituents—that vaccine demand is high and is outstripping the available supply in pharmacies across Scotland. People cannot get hold of a vaccine anywhere, no matter how hard they search. If, as the minister says, there is no shortage of vaccines in the national health service and no restriction in supply, will she follow the example of the Northern Ireland Executive and the strong advice of Joseph Carter, the head of Asthma and Lung UK Scotland, and release the surplus stock of vaccine to the wider public immediately?

I appreciate Stephen Kerr’s recognition that, as I noted, there are no shortages of stocks in Scotland. We asked NHS National Services Scotland to check and ensure that stocks were there.

I have had discussions with my officials about the decision in Northern Ireland, but the clear advice that I have had is to continue following the advice from the JCVI. From a clinical perspective, the best results come to those who are most in need, who are the cohorts I spoke about earlier, and particularly the over-65s.

I will continue to focus on the wider public interest. A lot of members of the public are getting the message that they should seek a flu vaccine. Adam Osprey from Community Pharmacy Scotland reported that demand was outstripping supply in community pharmacies.

It is little wonder that that is the case, because it is a fact that, this year, the criteria for qualifying for the flu vaccine were changed. Community pharmacies could not have known that there were new eligibility criteria when they ordered their annual stock of jags, because the Government never told them about it.

Why, without any joined-up co-ordination with pharmacies, were the eligibility criteria for the NHS vaccine changed, making it inevitable that there would be additional demand on pharmacies? Is that not just another example of why people cannot trust the Scottish National Party with the NHS? Is that not simply a continuation of the SNP’s pattern of incompetence when it comes to health?

I refute entirely what Stephen Kerr just said. We have been listening to the experts—the JCVI—with regard to the appropriate cohorts to be vaccinated in Scotland. The information on eligibility criteria is routinely published on the Government website. The Scottish chief medical officer writes a letter, which is also published. The information is also published on NHS Inform, which is incredibly important.

My chief pharmaceutical officer and I meet Community Pharmacy Scotland regularly. From my recollections of the meetings that we have had, this has never been raised as an issue. However, at our next meeting, I am content to have a conversation about the issue.

As I referenced in response to a question last week, community pharmacies and pharmacists are absolutely key and integral to ensuring that Scotland gets through any winter crisis. The role that they carry out is incredibly important, and I am very thankful for what they do.

It is clear that there has been increased concern in recent weeks, not just in Scotland but across the United Kingdom, about the rising level of flu infections in all age groups. It is not too late to take a vaccine. Will the minister outline what work the Scottish Government and stakeholders are conducting to encourage an increased uptake of the flu vaccination?

I agree with Emma Harper that we should be promoting vaccinations. Over December and January, our partners have been heavily promoting flu vaccination to eligible groups. Health boards are offering a mixture of drop-in clinics, where there is no need to book, and bookable appointments, so that people have maximum ease of access.

Many citizens accessed flu vaccinations over the festive period, as boards expanded their clinic offerings to meet increased demand. Last week, boards delivered more than 16,000 flu vaccinations, compared with 7,400 in the equivalent week in January 2024.

Since 26 December, the First Minister has chaired a series of meetings with senior leaders across NHS Scotland to ensure not only that action was taken to make sure that people could easily access flu vaccines but that the system as a whole was working together in the face of significant pressures.

The First Minister has pointed to the flu outbreak as the reason for the crisis in our hospitals this winter, but that is little wonder when one considers that this year’s flu programme is operating at least a month later than the programme in either of the past two years. Vaccinations are later, uptake is much lower and, consequently, thousands fewer people have been vaccinated.

Some general practitioners, particularly in NHS Highland, have called for vaccinations to return to being delivered by GPs. Does the minister support such a move?

I thank Jackie Baillie for her question and recognise, as I think I said in answer to her almost two years ago, that we perhaps need different solutions for different areas. I live in Argyll and Bute and, in my area of NHS Highland, there is such flexibility. I am pleased to say that the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care has written to NHS Highland today and, if Jackie Baillie has any further questions about vaccine availability and location, officials would be happy to speak to her.

For nigh on three years, I have campaigned with three health secretaries and three First Ministers to restore vaccination services to GPs, which would provide a safer system at much lower cost and a local service for the Highlands, not a metropolitan centralised model. I am pleased that it sounds as though there is good news on the issue at long last, and I thank the health secretary for that. That will help to avoid further loss of life.

First, if there is to be that transfer of vaccination services, will it be swift? Secondly, is the cabinet secretary willing to meet me in person with NHS Highland GPs, perhaps in Inverness, and is he willing to have a virtual meeting so that GPs who are spread around the Highlands can contribute their views about how best to make the system work?

I hope that Mr Ewing will allow me to answer the question on the cabinet secretary’s behalf. I recognise the work that Mr Ewing has been doing to find solutions to the situation.

As I indicated to Ms Baillie, the cabinet secretary wrote to NHS Highland today. I know that he would be happy to engage with Mr Ewing, and he will write to Mr Ewing to ensure that that engagement happens.

That concludes topical question time.