An initial assessment of the Citizens’ Jury report demonstrates clear alignment with the Scottish Government’s cancer strategy and action plan published in June 2023. The four key priorities identified by the Specialist Cancer Charities Group regarding Diagnosis; Equal access to care; Mental health support; and Improving communication are directly referenced within the ambitions of our strategy.

A meeting is being arranged with the Specialist Cancer Charities Group to discuss their ambitions further.

The Scottish Government is absolutely committed to keeping our NHS true to its founding principles – publicly-owned, publicly-operated, and free at the point of need.

We have increased funding for oncology services to ensure cancer treatments and appropriate care are more equitably accessible.

We are also currently working in partnership with Macmillan to improve the service we offer patients with cancer through the Transforming Cancer Care Programme. The programme will ensure that every person with cancer in Scotland has access to a specialist key support worker, who can provide financial, emotional and other practical support to those who need it most.

Financial support for travel is also available for patients and authorised escorts, according to eligibility criteria and medical requirements. Boards are expected 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.

COSLA and the Scottish Government published our Health and Social Care Data Strategy in February 2023. The strategy which outlines our approach to improving the interoperability of our health and social care data through the adoption and use of common standards.

The Scottish Government welcomes IBD UK’s latest report, Crohn’s and Colitis Care in Scotland: A Vision for Change, and is grateful to the organisation for its work in this area.

We are committed to ensuring that all people living in Scotland with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis, are able to access the best possible care and support. The 2025-26 Budget, if approved by Parliament, will provide £200 million to help reduce waiting times and improve capacity. This will help ensure no one waits more than 12 months for a new outpatient appointment or inpatient/day-case treatment by March 2026.

Our Endoscopy and Urology Diagnostic Recovery and Renewal Plan has so far delivered four mobile endoscopy units across Scotland, providing 5-6 additional endoscopy rooms, and a Dyce facility to provide additional endoscopy procedures for NHS Grampian (ceasing December 2024). The additional mobile endoscopy units have supported patients to be clinically prioritised for endoscopy, ensuring that a range of conditions, including IBD, are diagnosed and managed timeously. Additionally, the national endoscopy surveillance framework, introduced in February 2022, has been implemented in all Health Boards.

We have also funded the Modernising Patient Pathways Programme (MPPP) with a specific workstream continuing to promote improvements in IBD care which is being taken forward through the MPPP’s National Gastroenterology Speciality Delivery Group (SDG). They have developed a national IBD pathway for NHS Scotland which is due to be published imminently. The Gastroenterology SDG is also developing a lower gastrointestinal pathway which will provide primary care guidance about testing and diagnosis for people with IBD and Coeliac Disease in Scotland.

Further detail on the Scottish Government’s proposed £221.961 million funding for the primary care fund in 2025-2026 can be found in the 2025-26 Level 4 tables published along the Budget itself - Supporting documents - Scottish Budget 2025 to 2026 - gov.scot. In addition, we plan to further invest in primary and community care services from the commitment to provide £100 million Reform and Improvement measures funding to alleviate waiting time and hospital occupancy.

The 2025-26 Budget provides almost £2.2 billion for social care and integration – including £200 million to reduce waiting lists, help support reduction of delayed discharge and increase capacity– expanding the hospital and home programme to ensure no one waits more than 12 months for a new outpatient appointment or day case treatment by March 2026.

£100 million of this is going on planned care (waiting times) and the remainder is going on a package of improvement and support to improve flow and increase capacity in NHS acute settings.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information. NHS Education for Scotland (NES) are responsible for supporting the education, training and development of Advanced Nurse Practitioners.

We are working with local systems as part of the annual planning process for 2025-26 to ensure any additional funding to expand Hospital at Home is targeted towards the areas that offer the greatest improvement to performance and patient care.

Advanced Nurse Practitioners (ANPs) working in General Practice are employed by either Health Boards or by GP practices.

Data on the whole-time equivalent (WTE) ANP workforce employed directly by Health Boards is published annually by the Scottish Government in the Primary care improvement plans: implementation progress summary. This data is set out in the following table.

Data published by Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) showed that in September 2024, Older Adult’s Hospital at Home services provided the equivalent of 510 beds, similar to the size of Royal Alexandra Hospital and larger than University Hospital Wishaw.

Between July and September this year, Hospital at Home services for Older People grew by almost 14% compared to the same period in the previous year with over 4,000 patients managed by the service.

Hospital at Home capacity is in place across a range of other pathways such as Outpatient Parenteral Antimicrobial Therapy, Respiratory and Heart Failure. Published data is not currently available.