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The Scottish Government is aware that there are a small number of children experiencing symptoms of Long COVID. The NHS in Scotland is delivering care for children with Long COVID, ensuring support is tailored to the individual needs of the child through relevant pathways such as for chronic fatigue syndrome.

The SIGN clinical guideline on managing the long term effects of COVID-19 gives healthcare practitioners evidence based recommendations on how to best support children, young people and adults experiencing symptoms of Long COVID. We have disseminated the guideline to clinicians across Scotland and actively endorsed its use in underpinning delivery of care in NHS Scotland.

We are working closely with people affected by Long COVID, NHS Boards and the wider clinical community in Scotland to continue to deepen our understanding of the symptoms and impact of the condition, to make sure people can access the services currently available and that we make the improvements needed.

A pilot thrombectomy programme began in the North of Scotland at NHS Tayside on 9 November. A fully operational thrombectomy 24/7 service is anticipated in Tayside by 2023, and will form part of a national network in line with the Scottish Government’s Programme for Government commitment.

In the West of Scotland, the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital campus will provide a ‘hub’ thrombectomy service for the West of Scotland by 2023, while the NHS Lothian service will also be operating from the Little France site within the same timeframe.

As set out in this year’s Programme for Government, we expect NHS Lothian to provide a Thrombectomy service on the Little France site by 2023.

NHS Lothian’s Referral to Treatment data is not currently available for the period July to December 2020 due to significant pressure on the local information and intelligence resources in light of the current COVID19 pressure. This information will be published at a later date. The Scottish Government remains deeply grateful for the hard work, commitment and professionalism of all NHS staff at this time of unprecedented challenge.

Care home residents have started to received their second dose. Latest progress on second doses for care homes residents (as of 7 March) was 17,467 vaccinations (58% of residents in older adult care homes and 55% of residents in all care homes).

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that those living with respiratory conditions can access clinically appropriate, safe and effective person-centred healthcare treatment and support. The Respiratory Care Action Plan will set out the priorities and commitments to support the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of the following 5 respiratory conditions: Asthma; Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD); Bronchiectasis; Sleep Apnoea; Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis.

Clear governance arrangements will be put in place, following the publication of the Respiratory Care Action Plan for Scotland. This will include a National Advisory Committee with representation from key delivery partners to inform and develop the implementation programme and associated governance and monitoring arrangements.

We intend to publish our Respiratory Care Action Plan for Scotland before the 25 March 2021.

Vaccinations are taking place differently across Scotland to reflect the needs of local communities. NHS Scotland Heath Boards are responsible for the local delivery of the COVID-19 vaccine. As such, Health Boards along with GPs are responsible for making decisions regarding local delivery in line with the Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) guidance. This includes how GPs will deliver vaccines to their temporary patients.

The Coronavirus Vaccination Helpline can be called on: 0800 0308013 (available 8am to 8pm, 7 days a week) for advice relating to receiving vaccinations in individual health boards.

Further general information about the coronavirus vaccine and its delivery is also available at .

To save lives it is important we continue to follow the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation’s (JCVI) guidance in the planning of vaccine delivery. This evidence-based guidance advises that the single greatest risk of mortality from COVID-19 is increasing age, and that the risk increases exponentially with age.

Decisions to prioritise one population group over another are not taken lightly, nor are they straightforward.

People who are blind and partially sighted encompass a wide range of individuals with degrees of severity, so it’s important that the vaccine priority list focuses in on the specific groups who are at the highest risk. Some of those with a visual impairment will fall into the priority groups below, like the clinically vulnerable priority group (the 6th category in the list below, under ‘underlying health conditions’), but this does depend on each individual’s circumstances.

Some individuals with visual impairment will also be prioritised due to their age and / or additional underlying health conditions.

The full JCVI priority list is currently:

• residents in a care home for older adults and their carers

• all those 80 years of age and over, and frontline health and social care workers

• all those 75 years of age and over

• all those 70 years of age and over, and clinically extremely vulnerable individuals

• all those 65 years of age and over

• all those 16 years to 64 years with underlying health conditions which put them at higher risk of serious disease and mortality

• all those 60 years of age and over

• all those 55 years of age and over

• all those 50 years of age and over

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-29587 17 June 2020. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at

Due to the impact of COVID and ongoing development of the Patient Reference Group we are still working with the ALLIANCE to agree the final funding for this project which is intended to ensure people with lived experience have an opportunity to work with Government and other stakeholders to shape policy and improve services.