Chamber and committees

As part of the Scottish Government’s Endoscopy Recovery and Remobilisation Plan (2021) nurse led Oesophageal Cell Collection Device services were rolled out across NHS Boards. To date, 11 Mainland Boards have active services with over 6,000 procedures delivered to August 2023. The OesophagealCell Collection Device is an alternative to endoscopy for diagnosis of pre and early oesophageal cancer as part of Upper GI Endoscopy Recovery Planning. The Centre for Sustainable Delivery (CfSD) continue to support the roll out, and evaluation of OesophagealCell Collection Device across Scotland.

Since starting in September 2020, NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde have performed 1,680 oesophageal sponge cytology tests.

The Centre for Sustainable Delivery (CfSD) continues to support the roll out, and evaluation of the Oesophageal Cell Collection Device (CytoSponge) across Scotland.

However, whilst Scottish Ministers are responsible for determining the strategic policy of the NHS in Scotland, neither Scottish Ministers or officials are able to intervene directly in matters relating to clinical decision making as this is the sole responsibility of Healthcare professionals and Boards.

To specifically support scope based diagnostics we have published an Endoscopy and Urology Diagnostic Recovery and Renewal Plan backed by £70 million. The plan focuses on key areas such as: Balancing Demand and Capacity; Workforce Training and Development; Infrastructure; and Innovation and Redesign. This plan has delivered:

• Four mobile endoscopy units across Scotland, providing 5-6 additional endoscopy rooms.
• A national endoscopy surveillance framework, introduced in February 2022, which has been implemented in all Health Boards and holds near-real time information for patients in Scotland having regular endoscopy checks (surveillance).
• Triage tools such as qFIT, and endoscopy alternatives such as Cytosponge, and Colon Capsule Endoscopy have also been introduced.

The Scottish Government is aware of the Spanish Tax Lease system.

The management of the Police Scotland Estate is an operational matter, and is the responsibility of the Chief Constable under the scrutiny of the Scottish Police Authority.

Police Scotland is considering the future of both the Possilpark (Saracen) Police station and their former police station in Springburn. Police Scotland consults widely on its plans for public facing properties, including disposal, in advance of any decisions being made.

Scotland’s screening policy relies on recommendations from the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), an independent scientific body that provides advice on screening policy to all four UK nations. To date, the UK NSC has not recommended Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) screening through the existing newborn blood spot test, and has stated it requires further evidence before a decision can be made.

The UK NSC continues to monitor and review the rapidly developing evidence base regarding SMA screening. Most recently, in November 2024, the interim results of a new modelling study into SMA screening for the UK context were presented at a workshop to stakeholders. The findings of this study, in conjunction with the proposed In Service Evaluation of SMA screening in some areas of England, will inform the UK NSC’s considerations regarding whether SMA screening should be recommended.

The UK NSC updates on significant developments regarding potential and existing screening programmes on their blog. This can be found at UK National Screening Committee – News and updates from the UK National Screening Committee

The Scottish Government does not share this view.

Within the Scottish Government, funding of Health and Care Research comes under the remit of the Chief Scientist Office (CSO).

CSO funds research projects via its Translational Clinical Studies (TCS) Committee and the Health Improvement, Protection and Services Research (HIPS) Committee

https://www.cso.scot.nhs.uk/grant-funding/response-mode-funding-schemes/

CSO funds capacity building research via its Fellowship Funding programmes

https://www.cso.scot.nhs.uk/fellowship-funding/

Research funding is not allocated to any particular condition and CSO funds research across the clinical spectrum. All applications go through a process of independent expert review to allow funding decisions to be made. Applications on Brain Tumours are welcomed and CSO's role is well known across the Health and Care research community in Scotland

In 2023-24 the following funding was awarded specifically for research in Brain Cancer

TCS/23/18 - Assessment of Brain Tumours with Dynamic T2* and Lactate MR under Oxygen Challenge to Evaluate Aerobic and Anaerobic Metabolic Status of Gliomas

£299,918

Tessa Jowell Fellowship in Neuro-oncology

£44,237

In addition, CSO provides infrastructure funding to support the delivery of clinical studies in the NHS in Scotland. In 2023-24 the cancer-specific component of this infrastructure funding was £1,112,434. This figure includes funding for the NHS Research Scotland Cancer Research Network and the CSO component of funding for the Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres in Edinburgh and Glasgow (co-funded 50:50 with Cancer Research UK). The purpose of this funding is to support the delivery of early and later phase cancer clinical studies, including in Brain Tumours.

The Scottish Government would advise that the question does not take into account section 8(4)(b) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997. While the summary conviction can carry a fine up to £50,000 the legislation also allows for a fine on conviction on indictment to which no maximum is provided.

There is no lack of emergency access to any specialty over winter.

Our planning for this winter builds on the effective measures which have supported our health and social care services through previous years. However, we stand ready to take additional measures, if necessary, with all specialties, including urology.

We have developed our winter plan with input from the whole Health and Social Care system which brings together best practice and improvement work which we know works from lessons learned in previous winters, to ensure that the most appropriate care is received in the right place and at the right time.

Waits often occur due to a wait for an inpatient bed – in these circumstances patients will have been assessed by emergency department staff and their condition will be monitored while they remain in the department.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde is maximising theatre access for all surgical specialties. The Health Board are also running additional waiting list sessions targeted at various surgical specialties, including urology.

NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde North Sector, has established a one-stop urology, diagnostic and treatment service which provides earlier diagnosis for patients.

Significant additional activity is already underway following the allocation of £30 million funding to target reductions to the national backlogs that built up throughout the pandemic. This funding is being targeted at a series of national and local plans to reduce backlogs by maximising the use of local and national resources across Scotland. It is estimated this will help boards across the country deliver around 12,000 additional inpatient and day-case procedures, over 40,000 extra diagnostic procedures and around 12,000 new outpatient appointments.