Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 11 November 2020
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 healthcare workers to be tested on a routine and weekly basis. Surely that is something that we would all want to strive for. Sandra White said that we need to consider the realities and that
“testing is not a panacea.”
Nobody is claiming that testing is a panacea, but let us remember that RCN Scotland has written to every MSP. This is not about party politics. The Royal College of Nursing has said:
“Routine Covid-19 testing for health and care professionals is an absolute must. Our members need this in order to do their job while keeping themselves, and their patients, safe.
We have previously called for wider routine testing of all health and care workers in order to improve the identification and containment of potential COVID outbreaks. As a minimum, testing should be universally available to all staff, irrespective of whether they present with symptoms or have been caring for patients with COVID-19. Without this, health and care staff cannot be safe nor can they be deployed safely or effectively.”
I say to the cabinet secretary that that is not playing politics; that is about ensuring that healthcare staff who are on the front line are properly protected. That is all that we are asking the Government for.
I accept that these times are very difficult, and I accept that the role of the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport is massive at this stage. I praise the cabinet secretary for the work that she has done and is doing throughout the pandemic but, when it comes to testing, the situation is simply not good enough, and it must improve.
The health secretary said that there are logistical and planning challenges. I have no doubt that there will be, but are we using all the resources that are available? The Prime Minister had a press conference the other day and I noticed that he had the head of the army there, who oversaw the logistics in Liverpool that had put in place all those testing centres. Do we ideologically oppose the use of the military or will we do the same as the UK Government and start to bring in all those who can help us to get the logistics right?
Anas Sarwar talked about the possibility of the Covid vaccine. The health secretary knows—because she intervened—that it was utter chaos in Fife when they tried to organise the flu vaccine: a letter was sent out and there was only one phone line to answer thousands upon thousands of calls, which unnecessarily worried loads of pensioners.
I agree that we need to get the logistics correct, which means that we need to be willing to reach out and consider where the best practice is across the UK and Europe that we could take and build on. The point that Alison Johnstone has repeatedly made is that we have seen—through the World Health Organization’s recommendations and the situation throughout Europe—that we need to test, trace and isolate, so why does Scotland seem to be behind most of Europe and England when it comes to testing? The clear message that must come from today is that we need to ramp up our testing.
Anas Sarwar made another point about vaccine and testing coming together. I made this point yesterday when I said to the First Minister that I, like everyone, welcome the potential of a vaccine by the end of this year, but I know that major hurdles are still to be overcome before we start to see the roll-out of the vaccine.
We should not take our eye off the ball; we need to massively improve our testing and our capacity to test. The health secretary’s job must be one of the toughest in Scotland right now so I will work alongside her, but the message from today is that we have to get better at testing.