Seòmar agus comataidhean

The Scottish Government does not routinely provide funding for Public Access Defibrillators (PAD). The purchase of PADs is usually through fundraising in the community, from charitable sources or business resources. Charities and organisations including the British Heart Foundation provide access to subsidised defibrillators.

In March this year, the Save a Life for Scotland (SALFS) partnership published an updated Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest strategy and a key part of this programme of work is to ensure mapping, maintenance and accessibility of defibrillators.

The Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) is committed to supporting and improving the use of defibrillators across Scotland. SAS support and advice on Public Access Defibrillators (PAD) is available to any council, community, organisation or business from their community resilience teams. Further information can be found at:

www.scottishambulance.com/YourCommunity/Default.aspx .

We would encourage anyone wishing to install a PAD to work with a community group, if possible a specific community PAD group, who will offer support should a PAD be vandalised.

The Scottish Government has committed to the removal of all NHS dental charges in the lifetime of this Parliament.

All dental charges were suspended in the initial period of lockdown through to 31 October 2020. Pregnant women and nursing mothers who required urgent or emergency dental care would still be seen during this period.

Due to a technical issue with some electronic ticket machines (ETMs), most operators can only accept cash payment when a Young Scot National Entitlement Card is used for discounted travel. This issue impacts across the UK and relates to the ETMs themselves as opposed to the Transport Scotland travel product on the card.

The ETM suppliers are working to enhance the payment facilities, however the launch of Young Persons Free Bus Travel Scheme in January 2022, will mean this functionality is not required as those aged under 22 will be provided free bus travel.

The Scottish Government is committed to enhancing biodiversity and to protecting vulnerable species in Scotland.

Following the conclusion of the seventh Quinquennial Review the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) will submit recommendations for potential changes to the animals and plants listed under schedules 5 and 8 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, to the UK Government and the devolved administrations. The Scottish Government will carefully consider any recommendations made by the JNCC. However, before deciding whether to make any changes to the animals listed under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, we would have to be satisfied that in doing so there would be no detrimental impact to either the individual species or to the wider biodiversity and environmental landscape in Scotland.

From 2 August, travellers who arrive from amber list countries (who have not travelled through a red list country in the previous 10 days) who are residents of and have been fully vaccinated as part of programmes in the UK, US and the EU as well as a number of other European countries, will be exempted from self-isolation.

Those who have been exempted must show an accepted record of vaccination at the point of entering Scotland that they have received a full course of the vaccine and 14 days have passed since the final dose. This also applies to under-18 residents of those countries and travellers taking part in formally approved Covid-19 vaccine clinical trials.

The exemption from amber list countries for fully vaccinated individuals only applies to self-isolation and day 8 tests, and those applicable must still follow the other rules, including taking tests prior to their departure and booking and undertaking a day 2 test if you are over the age of 11.

The Scottish Government continues dialogue with the UK Government, Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Executive with the aim that future changes to policy on fully vaccinated travellers is announced on a four nations basis.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has issued advice indicating all those aged 16 and 17 should be offered COVID-19 vaccination. Anyone's who's 16 th birthday is on or after 1 August 2021 you can self-register for an appointment at: https://www.nhsinform.scot/vaccineregistration , from 6 August, with drop in clinics available to everyone in these age groups from the week starting 9 August.

We have agreed with Health Boards and Higher and Further Education Institutions to appoint Single Points of Contacts in universities and colleges who will support the delivery of the vaccination to students across Scotland, including through the use of on-campus vaccination clinics.

Young people who will turn 18 before 31st October 2021 (the current cut-off date for Phase 2 of the vaccination programme) are now eligible for vaccination and can register on the online portal: Registering for a coronavirus vaccine | The coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine (nhsinform.scot) if they have not already received an appointment letter. Those turning 18 later in the year, will of course be part of the ongoing rolling vaccination programme. The self-registration online portal will stay open as we move into Phase 2 of vaccination in the Autumn.

For second doses, individuals will get an invitation as normal, but if, for example, it goes to a previous address (as may be the case with students), they can rearrange this online or via the Coronavirus Vaccination Helpline on 08000308013 (available 08:00 – 20:00, 7 days a week) to a new health board location. Those who can’t be vaccinated before they leave home, should register with a GP practice to allow their CHI registered address to be up to date, and use the appointment checker to ensure they have a vaccination appointment as soon as possible at their new location.

To counter the risk of letters going to old addresses, and to allow more advance notice of appointments, an appointment checker on NHS Inform will allow someone to view their scheduled appointment earlier than the letter arriving: Vaccine appointment checker | The coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine (nhsinform.scot) . They can also use the Coronavirus Vaccination Helpline to discuss their appointment.

The appointment checker also means those eligible can reschedule in advance, and can now also reschedule to anywhere in Scotland, to fit in with their work and life. In addition, there are drop-in clinics in various areas for certain age groups. Anyone looking for vaccination should check their local NHS website to see what is available in their area.

It is hoped that many new students will be vaccinated before they attend their new further or higher education location. However, as we all know, it takes time for an immune response to develop to the vaccine (2-3 weeks), so even after individuals have received their first dose vaccination, they should continue to follow the FACTS guidance to help reduce the spread of the virus, and minimise the risk to themselves and those around them.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has issued advice indicating all those aged 16 and 17 should be offered COVID-19 vaccination. Anyone's who's 16 th birthday is on or after 1 August 2021 you can self-register for an appointment at: https://www.nhsinform.scot/vaccineregistration, from 6 August, with drop in clinics available to everyone in these age groups from the week starting 9 August.

We have agreed with Health Boards and Higher and Further Education Institutions to appoint Single Points of Contacts in universities and colleges who will support the delivery of the vaccination to students across Scotland, including through the use of on-campus vaccination clinics.

For second doses, individuals will get an invitation as normal, but if, for example, it goes to a previous address (as may be the case with students), they can rearrange this online or via the Coronavirus Vaccination Helpline on 08000308013 (available 08:00 – 20:00, 7 days a week) to a new health board location. Those who can’t be vaccinated before they leave home, should register with a GP practice to allow their CHI registered address to be up to date, and use the appointment checker to ensure they have a vaccination appointment as soon as possible at their new location.

To counter the risk of letters going to old addresses, and to allow more advance notice of appointments, an appointment checker on NHS Inform will allow someone to view their scheduled appointment earlier than the letter arriving: Vaccine appointment checker | The coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine (nhsinform.scot) . They can also use the Coronavirus Vaccination Helpline to discuss their appointment.

The appointment checker also means those eligible can reschedule in advance, and can now also reschedule to anywhere in Scotland, to fit in with their work and life. In addition, there are drop-in clinics in various areas for certain age groups. Anyone looking for vaccination should check their local NHS website to see what is available in their area.

It is hoped that many new students will be vaccinated before they attend their new further education location. However, as we all know, it takes time for an immune response to develop to the vaccine (2-3 weeks), so even after individuals have received their first dose vaccination, they should continue to follow the FACTS guidance to help reduce the spread of the virus, and minimise the risk to themselves and those around them.

NHS Grampian’s current closure of Insch War Memorial Hospital is a temporary measure due to pressures resulting from the pandemic. Health and social care services continue to be delivered to the people of Insch and its surrounding areas.

Future use of the hospital will be shaped by the strategic needs assessment (SNA) of health and social care provision and services in Insch and the surrounding areas, which is currently underway. In consultation with the local community, the SNA will look at how health and care services can be improved and adapted to develop options for service delivery models that best meet the current and future needs of the local population. Further information on the SNA, including outline timetable is publicly available via: https://engage.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/insch-strategic-needs-assessment .

Over the next decade the Scottish Government will invest £10 billion in health infrastructure, which will include support for renewal or upgrading of primary and community facilities. The SNA that Aberdeenshire Integration Joint Board is carrying out will inform plans for investing in the facilities serving Insch and the surrounding communities.

If an individual has specific concerns arising from the results of a test they have taken, including related to their immunological response following vaccination, they should consult their primary clinician, who can determine whether further investigation is necessary.

There is a clear pattern between vaccination and testing positive for COVID-19 antibodies but the detection of antibodies alone is not a precise measure of the immunity protection given by vaccination.

It is not yet known how having detectable antibodies, now or at some time in the past, affects the chance of getting COVID-19 again as other parts of the immune system (T cell response) will offer protection. Antibody positivity is defined by a fixed amount of antibodies in the blood. A negative test result will occur if there are no antibodies or if antibody levels are too low to reach this threshold.

It is important to draw the distinction between testing positive for antibodies and having immunity. Following infection or vaccination, antibody levels can vary and sometimes increase but are still below the level identified as “positive” in this test, and other tests. This does not mean that a person has no protection against coronavirus (COVID-19) since an immune response does not rely on the presence of antibodies alone. We also do not yet know exactly how much antibodies need to rise to give protection. A person’s ‘T cell’ response will provide protection but is not detected by blood tests for antibodies. A person's immune response is affected by a number of factors, including health conditions and age. Additional information on the link between antibodies and immunity and the vaccine programme can be found in the latest ONS blog .

The Breast Screening Programme invites women between the ages of 50 and 70 for routine breast screening every three years. This is in line with the recommendation provided by the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC).

When the programme resumed on 3 August 2020 following a pause due to the impacts of COVID-19, the difficult decision was taken to maintain a pause on the option for those over the age of 70 to self-refer into the programme. This decision was taken on the basis that the risks and benefits of screening women over the age of 70 are not yet clear. Available capacity is therefore being used to prioritise women eligible for screening and for whom the benefits are already clearly established.

The option for women aged 71 and over to self-refer for a breast screening appointment will resume once capacity in all screening centres returns to pre-Covid or close to pre-Covid levels. This is based on the recommendation of the Scottish Screening Committee, the National Screening Oversight and the Breast Screening Programme Board, all three of whom are keeping the situation under regular review. They are also working closely with Health Boards to increase appointments and meet this criteria as soon as possible.

We continue to emphasise that everyone should remain symptom aware and report any symptoms to their GP immediately for these to be investigated.