Scottish Government Coronavirus (Scotland) Bill

The Scottish Government Coronavirus (Scotland) Bill received Royal Assent came into effect on 7 April 2020.

We’ve produced a short briefing highlighting the main points relevant to care services.

You can read it here.


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COVID-19 web image

Clinical consumables survey

We are inviting services to complete this survey, on a voluntary basis,  to collect summary data about types of clinical consumables that are in short supply across Scotland.

We will share the information we collect with the NHS National Services Scotland triage centre to give them an overview of shortages across Scotland.

We will issue this survey weekly to see how the situation is changing over time.

Please complete the survey in line with what your service’s current needs are, referring to Health Protection Scotland guidance on required equipment where relevant.

https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/supplyshortagesacrossScotland/

We will not be able to respond to individual services’ needs using this survey.   If you are experiencing a critical shortage, then you should contact the NHS NSS triage centre by calling 0300 303 3020.


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Updated HPS guidance for social or community care and residential settings

Health Protection Scotland have updated their guidance for social or community care and residential settings to include information about personal protective equipment (PPE).

This can be downloaded from their website here.  


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SAPG guidance on antibiotic use

The Scottish Antimicrobial Prescribing Group (SAPG) has published some interim advice for clinical teams to ensure antimicrobial stewardship is maintained during the coronavirus Covid-19 emergency.   This includes:

  • Updated advice Covid-19 hospital (23 March 2020)

  • Interim advice Covid-19 frail older people (23 March 2020)

  • Interim advice to Antimicrobial Management Teams 12 March 2020

These documents can be downloaded from the SAPG website here. 


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Supporting care services that experience critical staff shortages during Covid-19

On 3 April, we introduced a new notification on staffing levels designed to enable us to give you the help and support you may urgently need in order to cope with the impact of Covid-19 on your service.

Put simply, your notifications will enable us to identify, co-ordinate and put in place the support you need when staffing levels are critically compromised due to Covid-19.

The notification also includes a free text box so you can tell us about other issues, such as a crucial need for PPE.

It is essential that you use the notification to let us know the situation in your care service.

The notification lets you tell us which stage you are at:

  • Green, with enough staff/skills mix
  • Amber, stretched and only just managing
  • Red, where you no longer have the staffing levels/skills mix to meet people’s needs.

We will also share this information appropriately, together with other information we are gathering, with others who can help such as local authorities, health and social care partnerships, Scottish Government, and the NHS/SSSC Hub to deliver support across partnership areas and nationally.  

This can be done via eForms, or using the links below.

This new notification is in addition to others we have recently introduced or adjusted to help us support care during Covid-19.

  • Outbreak of infectious diseases: for any outbreak of an infectious disease, including Covid-19. 
  • Death of a service user – for any death of a service user, including from confirmed or suspected covid19.
  • Change of circumstances related to covid19 – this is a new notification that services can use to tell us about any changes to how they operate that is specifically related to covid19.  This is only available through eForms. 
  • Covid19: staff shortages – this is the newest notification and enables services to tell us about changes to staffing levels and what additional staffing is required. 

If you are using the notification links above, once you click 'next page', your form will be submitted and you will be returned to our homepage.   You will not receive confirmation the form has been submitted.   If you need to complete another notification, please click ‘Covid-19 – Information and guidance for care services’ to redirect you back to this page

These additional notifications are helping us to better understand and inform others of the pressures services across Scotland are facing during Covid-19, so that support measures can be considered and offered.

Find out more about how the SSSC is supporting staffing at this time.


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