Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 11 November 2020
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 a result of this unpredictable virus. However, as we enter the winter months, the pressures on our NHS and social care sector will undoubtedly intensify. We must ensure that our health and care services are fully equipped and best placed to deal with what comes along.
As Monica Lennon rightly identified, we must make full use of our testing capacity. In particular, we must test weekly all those who work on the front line of our NHS and our social care sector, because we know that, by doing that, we will protect workers, patients and residents in care homes.
At this juncture, I should mention the issue of testing family care givers, given the crucial importance of enabling safe visiting of our loved ones in care homes. I hope that the Scottish Government is actively considering that matter.
It is right that steps are being taken to increase testing capacity from the existing capacity of around 30,000 tests a day in accordance with the Scottish Government’s strategy review on testing. We know that, although that capacity exists, it has not always been fully utilised. Between 26 May and 17 August, the daily average number of tests carried out was only 7,500 or so, which fell well short of the amount of existing capacity at any given time. The cabinet secretary mentioned the most recent figures. In the week that has just passed, only 41,569 care home staff were tested out of approximately 53,000 staff. That means that more than 11,400 staff remain untested, which we think is unacceptable.