Health and social care: winter overview 2021 to 2022

Protecting the public from the direct impact of COVID-19 and other winter viruses

Supporting high uptake of vaccination

The effective delivery of the seasonal flu vaccine and COVID-19 vaccine form a critical part of our response to the potential pressures our NHS will face this winter. It remains crucial that everyone who is offered a vaccination takes up the offer: by ensuring that everyone eligible to receive a vaccine does so, we reduce the burden on the NHS caused directly by severe COVID-19 disease and other winter viruses.

Aims

• Ensuring everyone eligible is supported to access flu vaccinations this year, with vaccinations delivered by the end of December.
• Ensuring that pregnant women receive informed guidance and support to access their safe and effective COVID-19 vaccinations.
• Ensuring that individuals in the younger cohort receive a first and second dose of their COVID-19 vaccinations this year.
• Individuals are supported to access booster COVID-19 vaccinations this year, with vaccinations delivered to the everyone in those high risk groups by the end of January.

How We Will Deliver This

• We have implemented a COVID-19 Vaccination Certification scheme to reduce the spread of the virus and encourage younger people to receive the vaccine.
• We are providing information, utilising media opportunities and implementing staff awareness training seminars to reinforce messages and increase uptake of the vaccine in pregnant women.
• We will run a national campaign to encourage everyone eligible to get vaccinated against seasonal flu, which in turn will reduce the pressure on health services.
• We will continue to closely monitor day-to-day uptake, actively working with Health Boards, supporting targeted action for those who have not yet been vaccinated and for newly eligible groups such as 12-15’s and 16-17 year olds.
• We will monitor the progress and delivery of the seasonal flu vaccination programme against planned volumes.
• We will continue to work with Health Boards and expert stakeholders to ensure those with one or more protected characteristics, and others who may experience barriers, are supported to access the vaccine.

Using Test & Protect to stop the spread of coronavirus

Scotland’s overall pandemic strategy is set out in the updated Strategic Framework, which outlines the governments intent to suppress the virus to a level consistent with alleviating its harms, while we recover and rebuild for a better future.

Test & Protect remains an important ongoing baseline measure, and comprises access to PCR testing for people with symptoms, contact tracing and advice on isolation dependent on age and vaccination status, and a range of asymptomatic testing programmes using rapid antigen tests. This includes a universal offer to enable the population to regularly test to reduce the risk of spreading the virus.

Aims

• responding to clusters of high prevalence and outbreaks where they arise to break the cycle.
• Reduce the transmission of COVID-19 as we move into winter and beyond.
• Finding cases to mitigate the spread of further infection in the community.

How We Will Deliver This

• We will continue to provide Whole Population Testing for anyone with symptoms through Test & Protect.
• We will proactively find cases by testing contacts and testing in outbreaks.
• We will protect the vulnerable and prevent outbreaks in high risk settings by supporting routine testing.
• We will support the delivery of multiplex testing in clinical testing across health boards to support infection prevention and control, rapid patient placement, and indicate treatment where appropriate.
• We will provide testing for direct patient care, to diagnose and to treat, and to support safe patient care as NHS services restart.
• We will continue to undertake surveillance to understand the disease, track prevalence, understand transmission, and monitor key sectors.
• Effectively responding to clusters of high prevalence and outbreaks where they arise to break the cycle.

Finding cases to mitigate the spread of further infection in the community.

Reduce the transmission of COVID-19 as we move into winter and beyond.

Promoting compliance with baseline protective measures

Baseline precautionary measures remain essential to suppress the virus whilst continuing to keep sectors and the economy open, especially during the winter months.

Aims

• Increased and consistent compliance in the wearing face coverings.
• Awareness of the importance of avoiding crowded places, keeping a safe distance, meeting outdoors, good hand hygiene, regular testing, self-isolating if you display symptoms, and working from home wherever possible.
• Increased awareness of the importance of good ventilation in indoor settings.

How We Will Deliver This

• We will regularly review the regulations to ensure they are necessary and proportionate, maintaining public confidence.
• We will continue to use traditional and social media campaigns to reinforce messages about the requirement to wear face coverings in most indoor public settings.
• We will continue to support high risk sectors to improve their ventilation and air quality so that they can make their settings safer, supported by advice and guidance.
• We will implement the Grant Fund package of £25K to support small to medium sized businesses to improve poorly ventilated premises.
• We will continue targeted communications and marketing campaigns on what good ventilation looks like and how to achieve it.
• We will regularly review the baseline measures to assess whether the current approach is effective, and will use traditional and social media campaigns to reinforce key protective messages.
• Increased and consistent compliance in the wearing face coverings.

Awareness of the importance of avoiding crowded places, keeping a safe distance, meeting outdoors, good hand hygiene, regular testing, self-isolating if you display symptoms, and working from home wherever possible.

Increased awareness of the importance of good ventilation in indoor settings.