Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government does not hold information relating to students who have not completed pre-registration nursing programmes in each of the last three years. This data may be available via individual institutions. Students do not complete courses for a variety of reasons. However, the Scottish Government recognises the financial challenges faced by all students, including nursing and midwifery students, and understands that this has been exacerbated by the cost of living crisis. This is why we have committed to uprating the student nursing and midwifery bursary.

The 2026-27 Budget provides almost £22.5 billion investment in health and social care services, exceeding consequentials and providing a real terms uplift to enable more sustainable and resilient services, including those for interventional radiology. Delivery of individual services is the responsibility of each NHS Scotland Health Board. The Scottish Government expects NHS Boards to provide high quality care, including interventional radiology services that are safe, effective and person-centred.

The use of temporary staff in an organisation as large and complex as NHS Scotland will always be required to ensure vital service provision during times of unplanned absence, sickness and increased unforeseen activity, with the majority of spend on temporary staff directed through the NHS staff bank. These are NHS staff, on NHS contracts at NHS rates of pay.

In keeping with our commitment to direct as much of our resources as possible towards frontline services, the latest workforce statistics demonstrate the significant progress made to reduce NHS Scotland’s reliance on agency workers, with a 39% reduction in nurse agency usage alongside a 4% reduction in medical agency usage delivered across 2025-26.

Investing in staff wellbeing supports retention rates, reduces absenteeism and helps foster a more sustainable workforce.

NHS Boards are responsible for determining the workforce needed to deliver services safely and effectively, and have worked with us to prepare for the reduced working week.

The impact of the reduced working week is reflected in NHS Boards workforce plans, which considered the factors required to maintain safe service provision.

Recruitment of newly qualified nurses is informed by workforce planning undertaken at local and national levels, and we will continue to work with NHS Boards to ensure an appropriate nursing workforce supply.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-01456 on 20 July 2026. 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.

The Scottish Funding Council collects data on the number of students who have graduated from pre-registration children’s nursing courses across Scotland.

There are no pre-registration neo-natal programmes available in Scotland. Instead, qualified nurses can undertake a specific neonatal qualification post registration course known as Neonatal Care - Qualified in Speciality.

Whilst the Scottish Government sets the strategic policy direction for the NHS in Scotland, operational matters such as staffing and recruitment, including the recruitment of graduates, are the responsibility of the individual health and social care employers, taking into account national, regional and local priorities.

Although there is no current specific guideline that requires blood tests with results outside the normal limits to be repeated in all cases before discharge from hospital, these are considered as part of a full clinical assessment.

Healthcare Improvement Scotland’s Scottish Patient Safety Programme (SPSP) Perinatal and Paediatric programmes, underpinned by the SPSP Essentials of Safe Care, are co-designed to support improved outcomes for women, babies, children, young people and families in Scotland. These programmes work with staff and families to review and strengthen the approach to recognition of deterioration through the Scottish Maternity and Paediatric Early Warning Scores (MEWS and PEWS).

The planned implementation of Martha’s Rule will enable a real-time clinical review of a patient’s treatment and condition, rather than a formal second opinion or diagnosis.

The right to request a second opinion is already enshrined in the Charter of Patient Rights and Responsibilities.

The Scottish Government and Health Boards across Scotland have recently committed to expand the Right Decision Service across health and care in Scotland. This will bring up to date, quality assured and approved guidance to clinicians on their computers, tablet and phones.

The Scottish Government expects NHS Boards and other healthcare providers to use appropriate guidelines and respond to safety alerts as well as listen when patients express concerns or complain about the safety of their care.

The Scottish Government acknowledges the findings of the Royal College of Radiologists' 2025 Clinical Radiology Workforce Census Report. The findings will be considered as part of ongoing workforce planning processes. Following annual reviews of the number of specialty training places needed to meet anticipated future service demand and consultant need, the Scottish Government has funded the creation of approximately 850 additional posts across multiple specialities since 2014, including in radiology. Over the last ten years we have increased the Consultant Radiologist workforce by 24% (from 325.4 WTE as of March 2016 to 403.8 WTE as of March 2026). Over the last five years, a total of 162 Clinical Radiology specialty training places were advertised for recruitment in Scotland, of which all posts were filled successfully.

The Scottish Government works with medical schools and Public Services Delivery Scotland (PSDS) (previously NHS Education for Scotland) through the Scotland Deanery, to ensure that medical students and foundation years doctors receive appropriate exposure to oncology as part of a balanced medical curriculum and training programme.

Oncology is embedded within undergraduate medical education across Scotland and forms an integral part of the curricula delivered by medical schools. Universities design and deliver their programmes in line with the General Medical Council’s Outcomes for Graduates and the UK Medical Licensing Assessment. This ensures graduates develop the knowledge, skills and professional capabilities required to recognise, investigate and contribute to the management of cancer across a range of clinical settings.

Medical education is designed to prepare graduates for the management of cancer across a wide range of settings and specialties, rather than concentrating on increased exposure to any one specialty in isolation. This ensures graduates are equipped to recognise, investigate and contribute to the management of cancer as part of holistic patient care in a wide range of clinical contexts.

Students are introduced early to the scientific basis of cancer, including genetics, pathology and tumour biology, before developing clinical knowledge and skills through integrated teaching across specialties where cancer is a major component of practice. This is complemented by clinical placements in oncology, haematology, palliative care and general clinical settings, alongside training in communication, multidisciplinary working and patient-centred care.

Following graduation, foundation training is managed by PSDS through the Scotland Deanery. Foundation doctors typically gain exposure to oncology through rotational placements as well as through general medical and surgical placements where cancer care is a significant component. Where oncology is not included in a rotation, doctors are able to undertake taster days or short placements aligned to their interests. There has been sustained and increasing interest in oncology, with growing uptake of these opportunities.

The most recent specialty training recruitment cycle has been the most successful to date, with over 98% of posts filled across Scotland. Performance within Clinical Radiology has consistently achieved a 100% fill rate between 2023 and 2025, while Clinical oncology has risen from a 33.33% in 2023, to 50% in 2024 and 92.86% in 2025.