Question reference: S6W-08461
- Asked by: Sue Webber, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 11 May 2022
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Current status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 26 May 2022
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the reported findings of the recent report by the International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership, with Cancer Research UK, that in 38.5% of cases, patients in Scotland were diagnosed with cancer only after emergency admittance to hospital.
Answer
The Scottish Government has committed a further £20 million over the parliamentary term to our Detect Cancer Early Programme, which aims to provide greater public awareness of signs and symptoms of cancer to improve earlier diagnosis rates.
Significant funding has also been targeted at increasing diagnostic capacity across NHS Scotland. This includes our Endoscopy and Urology Diagnostic Recovery and Renewal plan to specifically support scope based diagnostics backed by £70 million and our £1bn NHS Recovery Plan which sets out our plans and ambitions for the next five years.
The NHS remains under sustained pressure as a result of COVID-19, with the number of people awaiting diagnostic tests now at the highest level since 2018. Patients continue to be seen based on their clinical urgency, for example those referred with an urgent suspicion of cancer continue to be prioritised for key diagnostic tests.