Military to support national Autumn/Winter vaccination programme
More than 100 members of the Armed Forces will this week join the national Autumn/Winter vaccination programme.
Some 100 vaccinators and 15 nurses will work across all 11 territorial health boards on the mainland to support the rollout of flu vaccines and coronavirus (COVID-19) injections and boosters.
Vaccinations are being offered to as many people as possible as winter approaches.
Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said: “We are incredibly grateful to everyone who has been involved in the COVID -19 vaccine rollout in Scotland, including the military, which has ensured more than 8 million first and second doses have been delivered.
“We are now in the midst of an extremely busy period for the national Autumn/Winter vaccination programme with flu and COVID-19 booster injections being offered to the most vulnerable groups, alongside first COVID-19 jabs to 12-15 year olds.
“With increasing levels of social mixing and close social contact in the colder months, it is expected that COVID-19 will add to the winter pressures usually faced by the NHS. That is why we have again requested military support to complement our existing resources and to ensure we can get even more vaccinations into arms as quickly as possible.
“It remains clear that getting vaccinated is the single most effective step that anyone can take to protect themselves from the most severe disease caused by COVID-19. Anyone who has not yet received their first or second COVID-19 vaccination can check their nearest open access centre on NHS Inform or phone the national vaccination helpline on 0800 030 8013.”
NHS Inform – Information on open access centres
Further £10 million winter funding for NHS
An additional £10 million is going to health boards across Scotland to bring in a range of measures to get A&E patients to the right care as quickly as possible.
This includes deploying physiotherapists and occupational therapists at A&E units to help triage and treat patients who would otherwise wait to see nursing staff. This will prevent people being admitted to hospital unnecessarily.
The new funding will provide more specialists such as social care workers and Allied Health Professionals on hospital rotas, and extended opening hours for pharmacy and diagnostic services such as scanning and ultrasound to speed up referrals. It will also support extra staff for peak public holidays.
This is on top of the £300 million package of funding announced as part of the Winter Plan to support the NHS.
Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said: “As part of the NHS Recovery Plan we have invested £27 million towards the Redesign of Urgent Care to ensure people receive the right care, at the right place. This will add to that work so our hospitals and A&E departments are not overstretched, if some patients can be safely and effectively treated elsewhere.
“Alongside the additional £10 million investment recently announced to prevent delayed discharge and avoid hospital stays, this extra winter funding aims to ease pressures in A&E departments and minimise delays that patients are currently experiencing when they need urgent care.
“Placing physiotherapists and occupational therapists in A&E will stop unnecessary hospital admissions so that, for example, patients with musculoskeletal conditions, chest infections, or those who have suffered a fall, can receive the right care quickly and advice on exercises to support recovery at home and in the community.
“This is not only good news for our NHS, but also better for the public in giving treatment in the right place, so emergency care is available when it’s really needed.”
Earlier this month the Scottish Government announced a record winter funding package of £300 million to increase NHS and social care capacity.
Since then, a further £482 million has been allocated to NHS Boards and Integrated Authorities to deal with the costs of responding to the pandemic
The Scottish Government will be working with health boards over next few weeks to identify what they might need most from this latest £10 million funding.
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