Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 03 November 2020
03 Nov 2020 · S5 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Winter Preparedness in Social Care
I thank the cabinet secretary for prior sight of her statement. I acknowledge and thank all our social care staff for their work in supporting some of the most vulnerable people in society throughout the pandemic. As we move into winter, we know that care settings are at risk from both Covid-19 and flu.
The cabinet secretary mentioned visiting guidance in her statement, and I wish to address that specifically. Earlier today, I participated in a call with relatives of people in care homes. Some of their stories were truly heartbreaking, in that they still did not have adequate contact. While we, of course, recognise the clear need to protect care home residents and staff from the virus, we must consider safe ways to reunite families with their loved ones. Given that winter makes all this even more complicated, I have three specific questions. Has the Government considered whether the designated visitor could be changed, so that more family members can see relatives in care settings at different times? Has the Government considered whether there could be a separate Covid-19-secure space in care homes, where visits could take place? Does the cabinet secretary recognise that there is a worrying lack of uniformity, given that care homes across Scotland are interpreting the rules differently?
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Lewis Macdonald)
Lab
The next item of business is a statement by Jeane Freeman, on winter preparedness in social care. The cabinet secretary will take questions at the end of her...
The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport (Jeane Freeman)
SNP
Every winter, our social care and health systems face significant pressures from seasonal flu and norovirus, but this year the Covid-19 pandemic magnifies th...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
Lab
The cabinet secretary will now take questions on the issues raised in her statement. I intend to allow about 20 minutes for questions, after which we will mo...
Donald Cameron (Highlands and Islands) (Con)
Con
I thank the cabinet secretary for prior sight of her statement. I acknowledge and thank all our social care staff for their work in supporting some of the mo...
Jeane Freeman
SNP
I am grateful to Mr Cameron for those really important questions. I have met some care home relatives and am due to meet them again this week, I believe. I h...
Monica Lennon (Central Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
Scottish Labour called for a winter plan, so we welcome its publication and will review all the documents carefully. We have shown that we can work with the ...
Jeane Freeman
SNP
I am grateful to Monica Lennon for her comments and questions. I will make two points. I know that the documents that were published today are detailed, but...
Christine Grahame (Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale) (SNP)
SNP
I welcome the winter preparedness plan. I refer to the focus on the movement of staff between care settings as “critical to reducing the risk of transmissio...
Jeane Freeman
SNP
That question is really important. As an MSP for a largely rural area myself, I completely understand the points that Christine Grahame is making. Care-at-h...
Alison Johnstone (Lothian) (Green)
Green
An essential part of preparing the social care system for winter will be ensuring that a robust testing scheme is in place for front-line staff. I am concern...
Jeane Freeman
SNP
I am grateful for that important question. I am not clinically qualified, in any respect, to say whether it is safe, but I am very happy to ask HPS to review...
Alex Cole-Hamilton (Edinburgh Western) (LD)
LD
Further to Donald Cameron’s questions, families still need closure after a devastating first wave, and many more will be wondering what this winter holds for...
Jeane Freeman
SNP
The answer to the last part of Alex Cole-Hamilton’s question is yes. Care homes, care at home and adult social care—which goes much wider than elderly citize...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
Lab
I encourage sharply focused questions and answers.
Kenneth Gibson (Cunninghame North) (SNP)
SNP
I warmly welcome the cabinet secretary’s statement. I should say that my mother is resident in a care home. We have heard similar themes from Donald Cameron...
Jeane Freeman
SNP
The point about consistency is really important. I know that Mr Gibson appreciates fully the restrictions on my ability to secure consistency across the piec...
Brian Whittle (South Scotland) (Con)
Con
A consistent theme is running through a lot of the questions today. A constituent emailed me today to highlight that the care home that his father is in offe...
Jeane Freeman
SNP
I am glad that Mr Whittle mentioned the Care Inspectorate, because it is a really important part of all this. The Care Inspectorate’s in-service inspections—...
Alex Neil (Airdrie and Shotts) (SNP)
SNP
I congratulate the cabinet secretary on the first ever adult social care plan for winter and welcome, in particular, the additional resources that are being ...
Jeane Freeman
SNP
I am grateful to Mr Neil for that really important point. I am happy to ask the advisory group to do precisely that and will ensure that he and other members...
Sarah Boyack (Lothian) (Lab)
Lab
Many of the findings in the recent inspection reports from the Care Inspectorate are concerning, with a high proportion of firms having received letters of s...
Jeane Freeman
SNP
That is another really important question. I completely agree with Ms Boyack that many of the Care Inspectorate’s reports are of concern. I meet the Care Ins...
Ruth Maguire (Cunninghame South) (SNP)
SNP
The Public Health Scotland report that was published last week highlighted the issue of care home size in relation to the spread of infection. How will the w...
Jeane Freeman
SNP
The question of care home size was highlighted in that report; it is also in our evidence paper and has been in other papers on emerging areas, including by ...
Annie Wells (Glasgow) (Con)
Con
The cabinet secretary touched on how vital for mental wellbeing it is to ensure that families can spend as much quality time as safely as possible with their...
Jeane Freeman
SNP
We will introduce regular testing of all care home visitors. We are looking at whether that will be through the polymerase chain reaction testing route or a ...
George Adam (Paisley) (SNP)
SNP
Can the cabinet secretary explain what further steps have been taken through the winter social care plan to enhance infection prevention and control in the c...
Jeane Freeman
SNP
There are a number of steps. Obviously, the testing that I have talked about in care homes for additional groups of people who are not symptomatic, as well a...
Neil Findlay (Lothian) (Lab)
Lab
Despite the Government’s announcements, for many families, when it comes to visiting, not a lot has changed and, eight months down the line, care-at-home sta...
Jeane Freeman
SNP
I do not disagree with Mr Findlay that it is critical that we test those individuals. As I said in my statement and in answer to a number of questions, we wi...