Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of providing accurate, quality assured information to cancer patients and their carers. This includes pancreatic cancer. In April 2014, we launched the Patient Experience Quality Performance Indicators (QPIs). These QPIs place a responsibility on health boards to provide appropriate information to patients and their carers in order to promote maximum understanding and to assist coping mechanisms. Access to written materials, computerised information and a named nurse should be readily available at all stages of disease management.

The QPIs recommend that healthcare professionals explore the patient’s preferences about the level and type of information they want. Based on this, the patient (and their family members and/or carers if appropriate) should be given clear, consistent, evidence-based, contextualised, and tailored information throughout all stages of their care.

In addition to the QPIs, NHS24 will continue to work to develop the Cancer Zone on NHS inform to provide a trusted source of on-line tailored cancer information that supports the patient at whatever stage they are in their treatment process. This development includes the facility for GPs to produce leaflets for patients which are tailored for their specific needs.

As noted on the NHS inform website the Scottish Government recognises dieticians as a core part of a multidisciplinary team.

We would encourage NHS boards to ensure that this is the case with regard to pancreatic cancer multidisciplinary teams.

The most recent published comparison of cancer survival in the UK is available from the European Cancer Registry Based Study on Survival and Care of Cancer Patients (EUROCARE-5), which relates to the period of diagnosis 2000-07.

According to this study, one year and five year relative survival probabilities for pancreatic cancer in Scotland are not significantly different from the other parts of the UK.

Tables 1a and 1b show the cumulative relative survival (percentage) up to a) one year and b) five years after diagnosis of pancreatic cancer for patients aged 15 years and over in Scotland compared with other parts of the UK.

Table 1a: Survival at one year after diagnosis of pancreatic cancer (2000-07)

United Kingdom; males and females aged 15 and over.

Table 1b: Survival at five years after diagnosis of pancreatic cancer (2000-2007)

United Kingdom; males and females aged 15 and over.

Source: European Cancer Registry Based Study on Survival and Care of Cancer Patients (EUROCARE-5).

Date extracted: 03-06-2014

NHS boards have well-established ‘urgent suspected cancer’ GP referral pathways to facilitate prompt diagnosis of cancer. To support these pathways and support effective referral to secondary care, the Scottish Cancer Taskforce has recently asked NHS boards to confirm what systems are in place to support direct access to imaging modalities for primary care practitioners.

Early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer remains challenging as symptoms are initially often vague and non-specific. The most common presenting feature is obstructive jaundice but may also include weight loss and abdominal pain. Specifically in relation to management of patients who present with jaundice, the General Medical Council approved curriculum for general surgical training details that trainees need to be “competent to manage, including referral for radiological and endoscopic investigation, patients who present with jaundice” and need to be “competent to manage patients who present with malignant disorders including pancreatic cancer … within a multi-disciplinary team with other surgical, medical and clinical oncology colleagues”.

NHS Education for Scotland ensures delivery of these approved curricula through quality managed training programmes and an annual review of competency progression for each trainee.

The number of samples sent to Porton Down Rare and Imported Pathogens Laboratory (RIPL) from Scotland since 2007 are shown in the following table. It has not been possible to provide pre-2007 data because of changes to how this information was collected at RIPL.

RIPL is an internationally recognised reference laboratory offering reference diagnostic services for dangerous pathogens. RIPL provides specialist expertise and advice throughout the UK, Europe and worldwide. Scotland requests and pays for any testing currently carried out there on our behalf.

NHS National Services Scotland’s National Services Division has confirmed that access to specialist healthcare in England will be unaffected following independence.

After independence Scotland will maintain a very strong relationship with the other countries of the UK. Scotland will continue to work with other parts of the UK to provide services where this provides access to the highest quality of care and delivers the best outcomes. There are already effective cross-border working arrangements in place which will provide a strong foundation for continue cooperation.

Scottish Government funding available for employment initiatives and job creation are contained within budget level 3:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2014/01/6802

Detail on ambulance journeys undertaken between Scotland and England by the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) is set out in the following table. Information on journeys carried out by English ambulance services or independent ambulance services is not held centrally.

SAS have provided the following tables and notes, their data systems do not hold the information in the format requested prior to 2006-07.

Notes

(1) The numbers of A and E incidents include those that took place in Scotland but where the destination hospital was Carlisle Hospital, Freemans Hospital in Newcastle, or Berwick Infirmary. It also includes incidents where an SAS ambulance attended an incident that took place out-with Scotland.

(2) Due to the way the information is held, the figures for patient transport journeys, includes a very small number of journeys to or from Wales.

(3) The Air Ambulance figures include all journeys recorded specifically as being between Scotland and England (and vice versa). There is an estimated further 10 to 15 journeys per year which are not recorded in this format and are excluded from the numbers provided.

The information requested is contained in the following table:

Scottish residents who received a cardiothoracic transplant at Newcastle, Freeman Hospital 1 April 2004 to 31 March 2014:

Source: NHS Blood and Transplant

# to prevent disclosure or patient identification, some values have been suppressed (mainly values of five of less, but other values may also be suppressed if publication could lead to deduction of other small numbers).