- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 25 October 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 8 November 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has considered developing an early alert system for GPs to improve the early diagnosis of cancer in children, adolescents and young adults under 25, and what its position is on this matter.
Answer
The Scottish Government recognises the importance of early diagnosis of cancer and would expect any child or young adult presenting with potential cancer symptoms to be assessed as quickly as possible.
To support earlier diagnosis, a clinical refresh of the Scottish Referral Guidelines for Suspected Cancer is currently underway to help ensure the right person is on the right pathway at the right time and will be published in 2025.
This will include updated guidelines for suspected cancer in children and young people. These guidelines, developed with input from clinicians in primary and secondary care and third sector, will support primary care clinicians to identify those children and young people with symptoms suspicious of cancer who require urgent assessment by a specialist.
A new primary care cancer education platform – Gateway C – was launched on 30 April 2024 across NHS Scotland. Gateway C provides innovative and tailored information to support earlier cancer diagnosis efforts and enable effective decision-making. This free online platform is accessible to all primary care clinicians and includes specific education on cancers affecting children and young people.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 25 October 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 8 November 2024
To ask the Scottish Government, in situations where a child or young person under 25 with cancer must receive treatment outwith Scotland, whether it is the (a) referring principal treatment centre NHS board or (b) patient's home NHS board that funds the travel and access to this treatment.
Answer
Guidance on establishing the responsible commissioner has been issued to NHS Boards to ensure services are always provided in the best interests of the patient (CEL 06 (2013)).
As set out in this guidance and under article 2 of the Functions of Health Boards (Scotland) Order 1991, Health Boards have a responsibility to provide for the health care of patients living within their boundaries, i.e. patients who are “ordinarily resident” in their area. This includes when a Health Board refers a patient for whom they are responsible directly to another Health Board within Scotland or cross-border within the UK.
Two exceptions are designated national specialist services in both NHS Scotland and NHS England; and the commissioning of highly specialised services in NHS England. In such cases and through referral from the patient’s home Board, NHS National Services Scotland National Services Division (NSD) manages cross-border care through a financial risk share arrangement on behalf of all NHS Boards or, through an overarching Service Level Agreement in place with NHS England which allows Scottish patients to access highly specialist care.
In situations where the responsible commissioner is unclear, all facets of the NHS are expected to work together to reach agreement on a case by case basis.
In regards to reimbursement for travel specifically, a patient’s home Board is responsible for developing and applying local policy. This includes assessment of eligibility and the discretion to reimburse travel expenses where they are viewed to be an extension of treatment costs and are clinically necessary.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 11 October 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 8 November 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how many teachers have been impacted by backdated pay agreements in (a) the current pay year and (b) each of the last five pay years.
Answer
Teachers in Scotland are directly employed by local authorities, who will have their own local payroll arrangements; therefore provisions relating to the backdated payment of pay awards will differ between authorities. The Scottish Government does not hold data on the number of teachers in Scotland who have received backdated payments, because this data is held locally by Councils as the employer of teachers.
On 2 October 2024 the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT) issued a joint circular to local authorities regarding the agreed 4.27% pay increase for teachers, at all points in the SNCT pay scales, to be backdated to 1 August 2024.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 25 October 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 7 November 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how it can ensure that all young people with cancer across Scotland have access to specialist psychological support from the point of diagnosis to a minimum of two years post treatment.
Answer
The duration of access to psychological support for children and young people with cancer is led by clinical need.
In December 2022 Scottish Government committed to making recurring funding available to the existing specialist psychological support services for young people with cancer across Scotland. This commitment was successfully met in 2023-24 and continues to provide more certainty to these specialist roles.
The psychological support considerations regarding specialist workforce for children and young people with cancer is currently being reviewed by the Managed Service Network for Children and Young People with Cancer (MSN CYPC) as part of a wider workforce review. The Scottish Government is in regular contact with the MSN as their review continues.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 October 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 7 November 2024
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-30256 by Neil Gray on 8 October 2024, how many blood cancer clinical studies have been supported by the NHS Research Scotland (NRS) Cancer Network in each financial year since 2018-2019.
Answer
Data provided by the NHS Research Scotland Cancer Research Network on the number of blood cancer clinical studies that have been supported by the Network in each financial year since 2018-19 are shown in the following table, noting that individual studies can take a number of years to complete. The figures are inclusive of studies open to recruitment and in participant follow up in any given year, paediatric and adult studies, and public, charity, and industry sector funded studies.
Year | Number of clinical studies supported in given year |
2018-19 | 206 |
2019-20 | 200 |
2020-21 | 212 |
2021-22 | 221 |
2022-23 | 218 |
2023-24 | 230 |
The data source used to compile the information above provides a more detailed study record compared with the source used to answer question S6W-30256. This accounts for the difference in the figure for the number of studies supported in 2023-24 given in the table above and in the answer to question S6W-30256.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 November 2024
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 14 November 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what support it will make available to fully fund and protect hospice care services, in light of the increase in national insurance contributions in the UK Budget and any impact of the Agenda for Change on hospice budgets.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 14 November 2024
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 25 October 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 5 November 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the financial support that NHS boards provide to children and young people under 25 with cancer for their travel for treatment at specialist centres.
Answer
The Scottish Government provides the overall guidance to NHS Boards for patient travel expenses reimbursement. Health Boards are responsible for developing and applying their own policies, including reimbursement rates, ensuring patient care and safety. Health Boards therefore have the discretion to provide financial support for any travel to treatment centres where deemed to be an extension of treatment and clinically necessary.
Scottish Government expects Health Boards to support patients to identify and access support available, taking account of individual circumstances and ensuring that patient care is at the centre of all decisions.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 25 October 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 5 November 2024
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-28172 by Neil Gray on 19 June 2024, what further steps have been taken to fulfil the commitment in the cancer strategy for children and young people to expand access to specialist psychological support.
Answer
As noted in the answer to the question S6W-28172, the specialist psychological workforce for children and young people with cancer is currently being reviewed by the Managed Service Network for Children and Young People with Cancer (MSN CYPC) as part of a wider workforce review. The Scottish Government is in conversation with the MSN CYPC as their review of workforce needs continues. This will consider how best to improve access to specialist psychological support for those who need it.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 17 October 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 5 November 2024
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason NHS Lothian has reportedly not implemented public health messaging on long COVID, in light of the reported need to raise awareness, reduce stigma, promote early diagnosis and connect individuals with available rehabilitation support, and what upcoming plans it has to address this.
Answer
This is a matter for NHS Lothian. The information requested is not held centrally.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 25 October 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 4 November 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the adequacy of the NHS non-emergency patient transport service in meeting the specific clinical and logistical needs of young cancer patients under 25, in light of any need they may have to travel as a family unit, their immunocompromised status and the often significant treatment-related side effects that they may endure.
Answer
The Scottish Government’s role is to set the strategic policy for the NHS in Scotland, NHS Boards are responsible for service delivery and treatment. As set out in our recently published Transport to Health Plan All Health Boards should consider patient transport needs when they plan and deliver services and must ensure Patients have access to all information on any relevant patient transport (including community transport) and travel reimbursement entitlement.
Individual Boards are responsible for developing and assessing their own policies, including determining eligibility for escorts and reimbursement rates, whilst ensuring patient care and safety.