Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 11 November 2020
11 Nov 2020 · S5 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Covid-19 Testing (Health and Social Care Workers)
I will start by making it clear that I agree with Ms Lennon’s motion and Mr Cameron’s amendment, and that all I seek to do with my amendment is to clarify that we will deliver the roll-out of regular asymptomatic testing to front-line NHS staff and social care workers on the basis of clinical advice. As members know, since 25 May, we have been undertaking weekly testing of care home staff, and the most recent figures, which were published today, show that a total of 41,569 staff were tested in the period between 2 and 8 November.
Broadly speaking, the weekly figures are running somewhere between 39,000 and 41,000 per week. Since 8 July, we have been routinely testing front-line NHS staff in oncology and haemato-oncology wards and in day-patient areas, including in radiotherapy, as well as in wards caring for people over 65 years of age where the length of stay is over three months and in long-stay learning disability and mental health care.
Members will also know that we are actively scaling up our testing capacity to reach 65,000 tests per day, through a combination of NHS Scotland regional hubs and increased Glasgow Lighthouse capacity. I expect that capacity to increase still further as two additional measures come on stream.
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Lewis Macdonald)
Lab
The next item of business is a debate on motion S5M-23296, in the name of Monica Lennon, on routine Covid-19 testing for all health and social care workers. ...
Monica Lennon (Central Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
The motion in my name “notes the ongoing threat to life and health posed by COVID-19”. Today, the First Minister informed the country that a further 64 peo...
The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport (Jeane Freeman)
SNP
I will start by making it clear that I agree with Ms Lennon’s motion and Mr Cameron’s amendment, and that all I seek to do with my amendment is to clarify th...
Monica Lennon
Lab
I welcome what the cabinet secretary has said so far. Just so that we can get a sense of the scale of the challenge ahead of us, can the cabinet secretary sa...
Jeane Freeman
SNP
I cannot quite do the maths. It is not a huge proportion, but I can tell you that the estimate we have of NHS staff in emergency departments, as well as surg...
Donald Cameron (Highlands and Islands) (Con)
Con
During the pandemic, we have seen a heroic effort from all our NHS and social care staff to cope with the demands and pressures that have come to the fore as...
Jeane Freeman
SNP
Does the member accept that, in any given week, we will not have all 53,000-odd care home staff in care homes to be tested? Some will be off because they are...
Donald Cameron
Con
If it is not reasonable, why did the cabinet secretary give assurances that all care home staff would be tested every week? We know that that simply is not ...
Alison Johnstone (Lothian) (Green)
Green
On 24 April, I wrote to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport and said that I considered routine testing for hospital and care workers who were on the f...
Alex Cole-Hamilton (Edinburgh Western) (LD)
LD
It is a great privilege to follow such an excellent speech from Alison Johnstone. I absolutely associate myself with her remarks. The Liberal Democrats will...
Jeane Freeman
SNP
Will the member take an intervention?
Alex Cole-Hamilton
LD
I do not have much time, but I will take the cabinet secretary’s intervention.
Jeane Freeman
SNP
If we do not use clinical prioritisation as the way to roll this out, what would the member suggest that we use?
Alex Cole-Hamilton
LD
I refer to the cabinet secretary to my remark a moment ago. We accept the Scottish Government’s amendment on that basis. We absolutely agree that, if the Gov...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
Lab
We move to the open debate. We are tight for time; I ask for four-minute speeches, please. 15:50
Anas Sarwar (Glasgow) (Lab)
Lab
I put on record my thanks to all our NHS and care staff who continue to fight the virus on the front line, and I send my condolences and love to all those wh...
George Adam (Paisley) (SNP)
SNP
I welcome this debate and what the cabinet secretary said about how she wants to work with others to ensure that we can solve the issue. I think that we can...
Annie Wells (Glasgow) (Con)
Con
I welcome the opportunity to speak in this important debate. As many people have noted in recent weeks and months, the pressure on the NHS this winter will ...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Christine Grahame)
SNP
There is a strict four minutes for speakers, now. 16:03
Pauline McNeill (Glasgow) (Lab)
Lab
I first pay tribute to the scientists across the world who have been working night and day to find a vaccine, although we know that there is still a long way...
Sandra White (Glasgow Kelvin) (SNP)
SNP
I am pleased to speak in the debate. I was going to offer some statistics, but George Adam and others have done so, in regard to the Scottish Government’s 10...
Edward Mountain (Highlands and Islands) (Con)
Con
Given the excellent speeches that we have heard, I propose to keep my speech relatively short. I always judge leaders on whether they would take the same ri...
Ruth Maguire (Cunninghame South) (SNP)
SNP
I begin by acknowledging the incredible efforts of our NHS and care staff, who continue to be on the front line caring for patients with Covid-19 and working...
Alison Johnstone
Green
The Scottish Government’s testing strategy and its nosocomial review group have recognised the importance of routine testing for healthcare workers, so I do ...
Ruth Maguire
SNP
Alison Johnstone has consistently made those points, in her speech and before in the chamber, and she has done so again. It is important to note that some s...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
SNP
We move to closing speeches. 16:19
Brian Whittle (South Scotland) (Con)
Con
I remind members that I have a daughter who is on the front line in the Scottish NHS. As I rise to close on behalf of the Scottish Conservatives, I thank the...
Jeane Freeman
SNP
To respond to Brian Whittle’s point, we not only can do it—we will do it. I, too, express my thanks to all our health and social care staff and our emergenc...
Alex Rowley (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab)
Lab
SNP members who have spoken in the debate have been defensive, but I do not think that there is a need to be defensive. Monica Lennon is calling for all heal...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
SNP
That concludes the debate on routine Covid-19 testing for all health and social care workers.