Health and social care: winter resilience overview 2022 to 2023

Priority Three.

Support the delivery of health and social care services that are as safe as possible throughout the autumn and winter period, including delivery of a winter vaccination programme for Covid-19 and Flu.

We know that waves of Covid and a potential resurgence of Flu could place further pressure on a health service that is already facing significant challenge. Given the continued impact of Covid and other winter viruses, effective and timely delivery of the seasonal flu vaccine and Covid vaccines is crucial; both in protecting people in health and care settings, and in safeguarding wider society. Vaccination remains our best line of defence against Flu and Covid-19, and we are working to ensure that more than two million eligible people in Scotland are offered and able to receive vaccines, in turn helping to protect the public and relieving pressure on the NHS.

How we will deliver this priority:

• Healthcare Improvement Scotland will continue to deliver the Scottish Patient Safety Programme (SPSP), working with teams across the NHS in Scotland and in social care to apply quality improvement methodology to improve the quality and safety of care and reduce harm.
• We have already commenced roll out of the Autumn/Winter 2022-23 Flu and COVID Vaccination Programme in line with JCVI advice. This builds on our existing vaccination programme, which has delivered more than 12.6 million Covid-19 vaccines since the start of the pandemic.
• We are working with Health Boards and expert stakeholders to ensure that vulnerable individuals have access to the necessary winter vaccinations. As at 25 September, we have administered around 308,00 Flu vaccinations and 288,000 Covid-19 vaccinations; with over 94% of these being by co-administration of Flu and Covid vaccination in one appointment which minimises the impact on vaccination services.
• We are committed to legislating for a Patient Safety Commissioner who will champion the voice of the patient within the patient safety system.
• We are working with Boards to deliver a safe, resilient and sustainable out of hours service across Scotland to ensure patients have access to urgent primary care 24/7.