Chamber and committees

The meeting planned to take place on the 29 April 2026, to discuss the formation of a short life working group to look at interventions for chronic pain, was cancelled to allow full consideration of the group’s remit, methodology, and membership.

NHS Scotland is required to consider the Scottish Health Technologies Group's(SHTG) recommendations. Discussions are underway to understand how those recommendations can inform sustainable, consistent and effective service delivery across Scotland.

This is an operational decision for NHS Highland.

The Scottish Government wants people diagnosed with cancer to be treated as close to home as clinically possible. We recognise that NHS Scotland’s oncology capacity has been increasingly tested and continue to work with NHS Boards to limit the need for travel where possible and clinically appropriate.

The Scottish Government convened a meeting on 24 July with Board Chief Executives and Medical Directors to discuss the current situation in NHS Highland to ensure the risks are being mitigated and the system is working collaboratively to do this.

Whilst this is an operational issue for NHS Highland the Scottish Government remains in close contact with the Health Board at this time.

The Scottish Government has developed a range of national guidance, including the Discharge Without Delay approach, which promotes multidisciplinary assessment, person-centred discharge planning and collaboration between health, social care, housing and homelessness services. This approach is reinforced by Scotland's homelessness prevention duties, which, when enacted, will require relevant public bodies to ask and act where a person is at risk of homelessness and ensure housing needs are considered as part of assessment and discharge planning.

The General Medical Council (GMC), the independent UK statutory regulator for the medical profession, publishes its guidance Good Medical Practice (GMP), which sets the standards for professional practice and how doctors should work with patients.

While the title “consultant” is not a protected title under the Medical Act 1983, GMP is clear that doctors must always be honest and transparent about their experience, qualifications and current role.

Therefore, the Scottish Government has no plans at present to issue separate national guidance on the use of professional titles. NHS Boards are expected to ensure that employment and governance arrangements are consistent with relevant professional and regulatory requirements.

The estimated number of individuals prescribed methadone nationally in each financial year since 2020/21 is presented in the following table:

We remain committed to the delivery of a 24/7 thrombectomy service. Public Services Delivery Scotland(PSDS) are obtaining the requisite clinical, planning, financial and staffing information from NHS Boards, including NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, to understand the requirements to deliver 24/7 thrombectomy availability across Scotland.

The Scottish Government’s approach to safeguarding alcohol policy from undue industry influence is set out in its Alcohol Framework published in 2018. The framework states that the Scottish Government will not work with the alcohol industry on health policy development, on health messaging campaigns or on provision of education in schools and beyond the school setting.

Regulated lobbying of members of the Scottish Government as well as MSPs must be recorded on the Scottish Parliament’s lobbying register, and minutes of meetings with Scottish Government Ministers, including by the alcohol industry, are retained as part of the Scottish Government’s corporate record.

The Scottish Stroke Care Audit provides invaluable information that helps drive improvements in the delivery of stroke care, including hyperacute treatment such as thrombectomy.