Agenda item 4 is consideration of a response from the Scottish Executive to the committee's sixth report in 2005, which is entitled "Bowel Cancer Services". Members have a copy of the Executive's response. An annex to it goes through the key findings and recommendations and what the Executive is doing or thinks.
The Health Department agrees with what was said about GP referral guidelines and has undertaken work on a draft protocol, which will obviously assist a significant number of patients. However, I am concerned about there being no end date. We have heard about people presenting late to the GP and people presenting early to the GP. People have had problems in the system relating to the specialist service that was required. I would like a date on which the report will be made available to us. Perhaps we could ask about that, although it is good that the work has been undertaken.
Members will no doubt be pleased to see the number of times that our report has been agreed with.
We are pleased that progress is being made and are aware from contacts in the health service that our report and the committee's report have had quite an impact. I agree with Margaret Jamieson that some commitments are a bit open-ended, but we are otherwise pleased with the response.
As members have no further points to make, do we agree that I should write to ask whether there are target dates for some of the commitments? I could ask whether there is any more information about target dates and circulate the letter to the relevant sections.
We are, however, generally pleased with the response.
Meeting suspended until 11:13 and thereafter continued in private until 11:36.