Current status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 18 March 2026
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consult with a wide number of chronic pain patients in future decisions relating to chronic pain services, as the Scottish Health Technologies Group did when reviewing NHS specialist pain relief for people with chronic pain.
The Scottish Government acknowledges the Scottish Health Technologies Group recommendations regarding specialist interventions for managing chronic non-malignant pain in adults. NHS Scotland is required to consider SHTG recommendations and discussions are underway to understand how those recommendations can inform sustainable, consistent and effective service delivery across Scotland.
We will continue to engage with a wide range of stakeholders including clinical professionals, third sector organisations and those with lived experience of chronic pain as we progress ongoing delivery of the actions in our Pain Management Service Delivery Framework.
We have set out the wider policy within which NHS Scotland is expected to deliver services and expect all NHS Boards, including NHS Highland, to provide high quality care that is safe, effective and person-centred. We expect that decisions about the appropriateness of treatment for chronic pain, or specific medications for pain management, will be made by the clinician in discussion with the patient to ensure the most suitable treatment is made available based on their medical history.