Question reference: S6W-25733
- Date lodged: 23 February 2024
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Current status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 5 March 2024
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what recent steps have been taken to improve diagnosis times for those affected by brain tumours.
Answer
The Scottish Government published our ten year Cancer Strategy for Scotland 2023-2033 along with an initial three year Cancer Action Plan ( Cancer Plan for Scotland 2023 – 2026 ) in June 2023.
Over the next 10 years, our strategic aim is to improve cancer survival and provide excellent, equitably accessible care. The Strategy and Plan take a comprehensive approach to improving patient pathways from prevention and diagnosis through to treatment and post-treatment care. We continue to place an emphasis on the less survivable cancers, including brain cancer, and improving their outcomes.
As part of this strategy, we developed a new Earlier Cancer Diagnosis Vision.
The vision includes continuing to deliver our Detect Cancer Earlier Programme, working with primary care clinicians to ensure they have direct access to diagnostic tests and quality education sources, as well as developing public campaigns to educate and empower those with possible symptoms of cancer to act early.
In addition to this work and in order to support radiology diagnostic capacity, we have funded mobile scanners to provide additional capacity for MRI and CT supporting cancer patients across NHS Scotland.