PHS publishes information on COVID-19 hospitalisations on their interactive dashboard ( COVID-19 & Respiratory Surveillance (shinyapps.io) ) which is updated weekly on a Thursday at 9.30am. Data can be downloaded from here and filtered to the desired timeframe. Since 1 January 2023 to 10 September 2023, there were a total of 8,076 acute COVID-19 hospital admissions in Scotland (as reported on the dashboard on Thursday 14 September). Note that data for the most recent week is provisional and may be subject to change.

We continue to monitor the impact of COVID-19 and other seasonal illnesses within the population both in the community and in acute settings. This, along with other pressures, are part of our Winter Plan work which we are developing in partnership on with COSLA. This plan will seek to promote system resilience and set out the necessary actions for that local systems should take to prepare for the expected pressures.

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting the totality of the Health and Social Care system deal with emerging pressures including any rise in COVID-19. In partnership with COSLA, we are developing the Winter Plan for 2023/24, working collaboratively with local systems and partners to ensure that the necessary steps are being taken now to support system resilience including preparations for the impact of COVID-19. This plan will be published in October. We will continue to monitor the situation in relation to COVID-19 over the course of winter and stand ready to enact the National Response Framework if needed.

Ministers and officials regularly meet with representatives of all NHS Boards, including NHS Lanarkshire and NHS Forth Valley, to discuss the performance and resilience of local services; including winter planning, which has been a priority since the end of last winter.

Scottish Government officials regularly discuss a range of matters related to the Scottish Funding Council (SFC), including SFC governance.

SFC’s governance framework is set out by the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 2005 and the September 2022 Framework Document setting out ways of working between the Scottish Government and the Scottish Funding Council. The Framework Document is supplemented by the annual Letter of Guidance which sets out Ministerial priorities and expectations.

The Scottish Government regularly meets with the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) to discuss a range of matters, including SFC governance.

SFC’s governance framework is set out by the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 2005 and the September 2022 Framework Document setting out ways of working between the Scottish Government and the Scottish Funding Council. The Framework Document is supplemented by the annual Letter of Guidance which sets out Ministerial priorities and expectations.

Scottish Government is committed to tackling the stigma around all aspects of problem substance use, including that associated with seeking support and treatment. We published our Stigma Action Plan on 12 January 2023 as part of the Cross government response to the Drug Deaths Taskforce. The founding principle of our Stigma Action Plan is that we can do more to support people affected by drugs and alcohol. We have long emphasised that drug dependency is a health condition and now is time to put that into practice. The stigma action plan outlines how we will turn principles into action by developing a voluntary accreditation scheme to tackle structural stigma; and implementing a national programme of activity to challenge social stigma. We will co-design the programme and accreditation scheme with people with lived, living and family experience. We will procure partners to take on the ongoing administration and delivery of the accreditation scheme and national programme.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-20393 on 14 September 2023. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of biodiversity and nature restoration, and the urgent need for action at home and abroad to tackle the twin crises of biodiversity loss and climate change. This is why our Global Affairs Framework makes clear that Scotland will play its full role, engaging with international networks on biodiversity protection and nature restoration to make positive contributions and cooperate with others.

Our biodiversity strategy sets out our vision to be nature-positive, halting biodiversity loss by 2030 and reversing declines by 2045. Achieving these goals will require significant efforts and – as part of these – we will continue to implement our international obligations, engage with international partners to cooperate and share best practice, and actively participate in multilateral fora where possible.

NHS Education for Scotland (NES) are responsible for managing all training provided to doctors in Scotland. NES ensure that all doctors receive high quality training in line with curricula that is set by the relevant Medical Royal College so that they are able to demonstrate that they have met all GMC curricular requirements, in order to practise independently as a GP in the UK.

The General Practice Specialty Training (GPST) programme lasts for 3 years with trainees typically spending 18 months in General Practice and 18 months in secondary care i.e. hospital settings.

All GP practices receive funding for protected time consisting of one session a month (usually within practice time) to allow GPs to maintain and develop their training and skills, and those of their practice teams.

Training currently provided to GPs on the diagnosis and treatment of UTIs include:

1. Educational activities during the first year of training under most GP Speciality Trainees (GPSTs), such as: tutorials, case based discussions, post consultation prescribing checks and referral reviews that are undertaken by their GP educational supervisors.

2. Management of UTI’s (uncomplicated lower UTI’s in females) in primary care also occurs through the Scottish Pharmacy First initiative. https://www.nss.nhs.scot/publications/pharmacy-first-scotland-urinary-tract-infection-uti/ .

3. The RCGP ‘Being a General Practitioner’ Curriculum Guide ( https://www.rcgp.org.uk/mrcgp-exams/gp-curriculum/clinical-topic-guides#kidney ) section on Kidney and Urology includes: Urinary tract infections in children and in adults including lower urinary tract infection, pyelonephritis and persistent/recurrent infection There are questions based on this clinical topic guide within the Applied Knowledge Test (AKT) and Simulated Consultation Assessment (SCA- OSCE style exam) which form essential components of the MRCGP exam.

4. SIGN 160: “Management of suspected bacterial lower urinary tract infection in adult women. A national clinical guideline. September 2020” is a readily available resource for all GPs in Scotland.

5. All GP practices receive an annual prescribing report which focusses on antibiotic prescribing and review of current guidelines on management of UTI’s in primary care. Each Health board has its own guidance - see below:

https://www.clinicalguidelines.scot.nhs.uk/nhsggc-guidelines/nhsggc-guidelines/emergency-medicine/diagnosis-treatment-and-management-of-uti-in-children-rhc-glasgow/

https://handbook.ggcmedicines.org.uk/guidelines/infections/urinary-tract-infections-utis/

6. Evaluation of the impact of Scottish Reduction in Antimicrobial Prescribing (ScRAP) programme on GP Practice management of patients with suspected UTI – is an example of initiatives regularly offered to GP practices to review their antibiotic prescribing. GPs through annual appraisal have to demonstrate annual QI initiatives and many include antibiotic prescribing in UTI’s and compliance with local and national guidelines.

7. Common reference sources used by GPs (GP notebook, NICE CKS guidelines, BNF, BMJ best practice) all have comprehensive sections on management of UTI in adults and children.