Waiting times for diagnosing suspected cancer patients are to be targeted in an action plan.
The £6 million Scottish Government investment sets out steps to ensure all new patients will be seen within six weeks for key endoscopic tests.
Those with the most urgent need – including those with suspected cancer – are to be prioritised with an aim to be seen within two to three weeks.
Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said: “Being referred for an endoscopy can be a worrying experience, particularly if there is a suspicion of cancer.
“It’s vital to get a diagnosis as quickly as possible, and that’s why we want to do everything we can to speed up the process.
“Our Endoscopy Action Plan will ensure the most urgent suspected cancer patients are prioritised and health boards will be scrutinised to make sure there are no unnecessary waits.
“With new training, technologies and systems this new plan will allow the most urgent cases to be seen even more quickly.”
The plan, which covers a two-year period, will sit alongside the Scottish Government’s £850 million Waiting Times Improvement Plan which was launched last year.
Actions set out to reduce waiting times include additional endoscopy clinics, revised clinical guidelines and more training for nursing staff, as well as piloting new technologies.
Gregor McNie, head of external affairs for Cancer Research UK, said: “Endoscopy services are currently under huge strain, so it’s vital that the plan’s connected funding and actions can support these with urgency.
“We look forward to playing our part in the monitoring and implementation of the plan so patients are seen in good time and that NHS Scotland has the capacity to meet current and future patient need.”
Scottish Labour health spokesperson Monica Lennon added: “Scottish Labour has campaigned for a two-week waiting time for cancer diagnosis for years, and it is welcome that the Scottish Government is now moving in that direction.
“People need certainty over their condition and treatment as quickly as possible.
“For too long, SNP ministers have been complacent when lives have been at stake, so in the coming days the Health Secretary must set out how her plan will urgently increase capacity in cancer detection and treatment.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel