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The online self-booking portal for COVID-19 booster vaccinations will open on 15 November 2021.

The online self-booking portal will be open to adults aged 50-59, unpaid carers who are aged 16 or over, and people aged 16 or over who are household contacts of immunosuppressed individuals. This will allow people in those groups to book online for appointments from early December onwards.

Patients in Scotland with medication-refractory essential tremor can be referred for MRgFUS treatment to the current centre in London which offers this service. These arrangements are managed through robust commissioning arrangements between NHS England and NHS National Services Scotland’s National Services Division (NSD). Referral to the service is dependent upon the patient’s local neurologist considering their eligibility and whether they would benefit from MRgFUS treatment.

In Scotland a partnership between NHS Tayside and University of Dundee is also enabling a small number of eligible patients to receive MRgFUS treatment at a newly developed facility in Dundee. So far 80 patients have been referred for assessment this year, and around 25% of those have been considered as being appropriate for treatment. The National Deep Brain Stimulation Service in Glasgow has been working closely with the facility to ensure that patient selection is appropriate with a view to the best clinical outcomes as well as patient safety.

While evidence continues to be gathered on the effectiveness of the technology, NSD continues to engage with the clinical team in Tayside with a view to the development of an application for national designation in Scotland.

Since April 2015 the Scottish Government has provided funding to support the planting of over 1.85 million trees and the creation of more than 925 hectares of new urban woodlands to provide opportunities for people to use and enjoy their local woods.

Around £8 million a year is available to support tree planting and greening projects within the Central Scotland Green Network area.

The Scottish Government continues to work with, and provide funding to a range of partners including local authorities, to support them in responding to demand for better access to unban woods through their expansion and improved management. Examples of this partnership approach include the Clyde Climate Forest and initiatives such as the “Wee Forests” that will play a role in improving people’s health and well-being whilst also delivering on our climate change and biodiversity commitments.

The care experience survey programme, of which the Cancer Patient Experience Survey is part of, is due to be under review shortly to allow for the context of COVID-19.

The Scottish Cancer Patient Experience Survey is run in partnership with Macmillan Cancer Support and is designed to be comparable with Cancer Patient Experience Surveys run in England and Wales. A change in methodology, such as altering the sampling frame, surveying people at different stages of treatment or surveying the relatives of those who have passed away, would result in survey results that are not comparable to the English & Welsh survey results. Such a change would require extensive consultation with stakeholders.

In order to capture the experience of patients with a less survivable cancer we are using tools such as Care Opinion and working with our third sector partners to collate best available evidence.

While the Scottish Government strongly encourage care home staff to take up the vaccine, we have no plans to make vaccination mandatory for social care staff.

Whilst we strongly encourage those eligible to receive the coronavirus vaccination to do so, the decision is one of personal choice, and we have no current plans to introduce mandatory vaccination, or to impose any penalties relating to this.

Employers should be aware that care home staff working in Scotland are not mandated to receive the vaccine. Each employer will need to consider their own specific circumstances and make sure their approach is consistent with their own existing obligations and relevant legislation.

The Scottish Government have been clear and consistent that whilst we strongly encourage those eligible to receive the coronavirus vaccination to do so, the decision is one of personal choice, and we have no current plans to introduce mandatory vaccination, or to impose any penalties relating to this. It is for each employer to consider their own specific circumstances and make sure their approach is consistent with their own existing obligations and relevant legislation.

We will continue to work together and engage with care home providers, staff and health boards across Scotland, to further encourage acceptance of the coronavirus vaccine to protect staff and residents.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-03618 on 8 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

The following table sets out the total number of patients seen and the number that waited over 18 weeks for orthopaedic treatment in NHS Highland, from January 2012 to June 2021 – the latest data available. This includes all patients reported as seen on the 18-week Referral to Treatment (RTT) pathway for orthopaedics, including those patients who did not require to be admitted for treatment. For example, some patients may not have required treatment depending on the outcome of an outpatient consultation or diagnostic test.

Please note, due to the complexities of 18-week RTT local data collection and reporting, the length of wait cannot be accurately measured by the Board of treatment for all patients. The impact of which for orthopaedics in NHS Highland is reflected in the number of unknown waits reported below. The data should therefore be treated with caution.

Table: Total patients seen and number of patients that waited against the RTT Standard, January 2012 – June 2021, NHS Highland, Orthopaedics

We are making significant progress with 43% of people aged 50 and over having received the COVID-19 booster vaccine as at 11 November 21.

Booster vaccinations in Scotland started as soon as possible once the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) provided their advice on boosters, which advised that at least 6 months should have passed since a second dose before a booster is administered, however there is some flexibility to offer a booster vaccination to the most vulnerable groups after five months.

The online self-booking portal for COVID-19 booster vaccinations opened on 15 November 2021.

The online self-booking portal is open to adults aged 50-59, unpaid carers who are aged 16 or over, and people aged 16 or over who are household contacts of immunosuppressed individuals. This will allow people in those groups to book online for appointments from early December onwards.

It is widely documented that air pollution has a negative impact on health. However air pollution does not cause recognisably distinctive diseases and the sorts of illness that air pollution can exacerbate can also be affected by multiple other factors. The relationship between air pollution and health is extremely complex, and it is not possible to say with any certainty what impact air pollution can have on a specific individual. We do know that the very young, the elderly and those with pre-existing health conditions are particularly vulnerable.

We welcome Professor Henshaw’s call for more research into the link between air pollution and child cancer, to further solidify whether there is a correlation.