Seòmar agus comataidhean

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-19389 on 4 July 2023. 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-answer.

How many (a) medical and (b) clinical oncologists are (i) currently employed (A) across NHS Scotland and (B) in each NHS board and can be found in this link to TURAS - NHS Scotland workforce | Turas Data Intelligence .

We do not hold the information for question (ii) how many medical and clinical oncologists are expected to retire in the next five years within NHS Scotland, however this link to TURAS shows the % of the workforce over the age of 55 - NHS Scotland workforce | Turas Data Intelligence .

The responsibility for the balancing of grid costs lies with the National Grid ESO, not the Scottish Government. Information on their work on this can be found here: Balancing Services Use of System (BSUoS) charges | ESO (nationalgrideso.com) .

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-19301 on 4 July 2023. 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 .

Work is ongoing to establish the most effective means of further expanding access to thrombectomy, to maximise the number of patients able to benefit from this treatment, including eligible patients in NHS Forth Valley.

Our new Stroke Improvement Plan includes a commitment to publish a plan and timeline for the further development of the thrombectomy service in the second half of this year.

The Primary Care Improvement Fund (PCIF) funds Community Link Workers (CLWs) as part of primary care multi-disciplinary teams (MDTs).

As at March 2023, there were 97.7 WTE Community Links Workers working in NHS board provided services within Greater Glasgow and Clyde Health Board. Within this, 94.9 FTE were funded through the Primary Care Improvement Fund and 2.8 FTE were funded through other sources.

This is a matter for NHS Health Boards. The information requested is not held centrally.

The Scottish Government expects NHS Health Boards to follow the recommendations in the National Clinical Guideline for Stroke for the UK and Ireland, published in April. The ultimate decision about a particular clinical procedure or treatment will always depend on each individual patient’s condition, circumstances and wishes, and the clinical judgement of the healthcare team.

To support scope based diagnostics we have published an Endoscopy and Urology Diagnostic Recovery and Renewal Plan which is backed by a £70m investment. The plan focuses on key areas such as: Balancing Demand and Capacity; Workforce Training and Development; Infrastructure; and Innovation and Redesign.

In recognition of the pressures on Colposcopy services specifically, we have provided over £660,000 of additional funding to NHS Ayrshire & Arran, NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde, NHS Highland, NHS Lothian and NHS Tayside to support activity and free up capacity nationally.

This funding was used to enhance capacity through recruitment and additional clinics, including at weekends, to allow increased activity and to reduce demand.

Each of the cancer screening programmes are monitored by their respective Programme Boards, who report to National Screening Oversight (NSO). NSO is responsible for system wide oversight of the quality and effectiveness of the programmes and subsequently reports to the Scottish Screening Committee (SSC). Regular updates are provided at the SSC meetings regarding recovery and overall performance of the screening programmes.

All of the programmes are now operating in line with pre-COVID performance, and we continue to work with the organisations that oversee screening in Scotland to ensure full capacity is recovered and maintained.