Chamber and committees

The Scottish Budget for 2023-24 confirms funding of £4 million to deliver the Young Patients Family Fund.

We continue to invest in our Detect Cancer Earlier (DCE) Programme, of which public education and empowerment is a key work-stream. We launched a new campaign – Be the Early Bird – in March 2023 to empower those with possible symptoms to act early. This included sharing stories of those that have been diagnosed and successfully treated with ovarian cancer via press and digital channels, to prompt others to take early action.

We will continue to work with the Scottish Cancer Coalition – which Target Ovarian is a member of - as well as the primary care community across NHS Scotland, to raise awareness of possible symptoms. Work is also underway to redesign DCE’s website (getcheckedearly.org) – this will reflect ovarian cancer content, including additional survivor stories and signposting to Target Ovarian for more information.

A high level of CA-125 in the blood can be a sign of cancer, particularly ovarian cancer, the 5 th most common cancer in the UK.

The Royal College of General Practitioner’s curriculum provides detailed sections on the management of gynaecological cancers and management of patients with cancer. All GPs are expected to have competences in the presentation and management of such conditions.

For doctors training to be GPs in Scotland, the current training programme involves 18 months in various hospital posts and 18 months in a GP Practice. During the 18 months in hospital, they may rotate through Obstetrics and Gynaecology where under supervision, trainee doctors will be able to manage, such conditions. In the 18 months they spend in General Practice, the doctors will see and manage patients at all stages of the disease including early presentation.

All GP practices receive funding for protected time consisting of one session a month, (usually within practice time), to allow GPs to maintain and develop their training and skills.

NHS Education for Scotland (NES) are responsible for managing all training provided to doctors in Scotland. NES ensure that all doctors receive high quality training in line with curricula that is set by the relevant Medical Royal College so that they are able to demonstrate that they have met all GMC curricular requirements, in order to practise independently as a GP in the UK.

All GP practices receive funding for protected time consisting of one session a month (usually within practice time) to allow GPs to maintain and develop their training and skills, and those of their practice teams. For GPs after their 3-year training, NES provide educational content related to gastroenterological conditions. There are also Practice-Based Small Group Learning modules (PBSGL) covering cancer and gastroenterology cases.

As at April, the median waiting time from listing to procedure is 81 days and the longest waiting time is 341 days. The service reports that it is now in a position to offer a surgery date that is within 12 weeks of the patient’s decision to go ahead with surgery.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-17503 on 15 May 2023. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

As at April, for outpatient appointments the median waiting time between referral and appointment is 236 days. The longest waiting time is 448 days.

As set out in the answer to S6W-17550 on 12 May 2023, officials are in the process of providing advice to Scottish Ministers on community eyecare services work, including the unique challenges of providing these services in remote and rural areas and domiciliary settings.

In addition, as part of the continuous review of service provision, the Scottish Government recently worked with stakeholders to undertake a separate report into supporting the sustainability of community eyecare services in remote and rural areas.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Scottish Government officials are in the process of providing advice to the new Ministerial team on community eyecare services work, including these short life working groups, and will update stakeholders immediately following the completion of this process.

The Scottish Government recently advertised for an Optometric Advisor position. Following a competitive recruitment exercise no offer of appointment was made. The Government remains committed to filling this post as a priority and is currently exploring options to achieving this.