There is an excellent book about this convoy by Godfrey Winn. Long out of print but worth searching for.
Winn was a civilian newspaper journalist who sailed in HMS Pozarica - a former merchant ship converted to an anti-aircraft cruiser armed with 8 x 4-inch AA guns.
This ship, too, arrived in Novaya Zemlya, after the scattering, accompanied by at least one merchant vessel found en route.
Re rescuing of survivors, I seem to remember PQ17 was accompanied by two or three dedicated rescue ships, but I think at least one was itself lost.