Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 20 January 2021
That was perfectly timed, cabinet secretary. I was about to say that the UK Government’s vaccination programme is moving at almost double the speed of the Scottish Government’s, but that, as the cabinet secretary has highlighted, is partly due to the Scottish Government’s strategy of targeting care homes first, which takes longer. As the cabinet secretary says, that is a false comparison in some regards. However, there are still issues.
We know that Scotland has a strong supply of the vaccine, with around 700,000 doses. However, the chair of the British Medical Association’s Scottish GP committee, Andrew Buist, has warned of a patchy distribution of doses to GPs. That would explain why doctors, who are eager to get the vaccine to their patients, cannot do so.
Dr Buist has also raised concerns about the vaccination programme being hampered by red tape. One GP went so far as to say that they have been “overwhelmed” by the bureaucracy, which is hampering efforts to recruit volunteers to administer the vaccine. GPs are already under enormous pressure after being on the front line of the pandemic for almost a year. Working at the heart of a mammoth vaccination effort only adds to that.
The BMA wants the Government to step up its communication efforts to ensure that the public understand the situation that GPs face and to ease the pressure. I hope that ministers will address that point and outline any further measures that they can take to help GPs at this time.
There is already hope that the vaccination programme can speed up now that the British Army has been called in to help. Around 100 military personnel will step up to set up more than two dozen vaccination units for the NHS. I am sure that all members of all parties will want to welcome that. It will be a big boost to getting vaccinations out across Scotland, and I wish the First Minister all the very best with that roll-out.
I raise the important issue of the almost unbearable strain that our NHS is under. I have already touched on the huge workload that GPs face, and the pandemic has impacted on our healthcare system as a whole. More than 100,000 people are waiting for key diagnostic tests, and constituents have been contacting me about delayed cancer treatment, cancelled operations and long waiting lists. Those patients must not be forgotten; nor must we forget the need to help our NHS to recover as quickly as possible. People’s lives and wellbeing are at risk. The priority for everyone, including members of all parties, should be backing our NHS to deliver the vaccine, treat patients and recover as quickly as possible.
I hope that all members will support the Scottish Government’s efforts in the vaccination roll-out. We want Scotland and the Scottish Government to succeed in that.
Finally, I welcome Mairi Gougeon to her new ministerial role.
I move amendment S5M-23894.1, to insert at end:
“; welcomes the announcement that the armed forces have established 80 new COVID-19 vaccine centres for NHS Scotland, and thanks them for their assistance; recognises significant concerns that the roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines to rural communities has been highly variable, with many people in the top priority cohorts still not having received the vaccine, and urges the Scottish Government to detail how it will accelerate the roll-out as a matter of urgency.“
Motions, questions or amendments mentioned by their reference code.