Asked by: Carlaw, Jackson (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Eastwood)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-26211 by Neil Gray on 2 April 2024, whether the total of 19 positions that have reportedly been advertised on the recruitment portal, Oriel, for August 2024, is the maximum number of radiology training places for 2024, and, if this is the case, for what reason the number of training places is not higher.
Answered by Gray, Neil - Cabinet Secretary for NHS Recovery, Health and Social Care
The recruitment round has not yet closed for 2024. The 19 positions currently advertised on the recruitment portal is a provisional figure and is therefore subject to potential change.
The number of posts advertised per year by NHS Education for Scotland is determined by two factors: i) the number of vacant posts, due to trainees completing training, resigning from post or undergoing an inter-deanery transfer, and ii) whether any additional posts have been created. The number of posts which are available for new applicants to apply for varies annually due to trainees working on a part-time basis (and therefore taking longer to complete training and vacate their post).
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Buckingham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Royal College of Radiologists’ Workforce Census Report 2022, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of that report's findings on (a) additional costs for clinical directors to meet imaging demand and (b) the cost of outsourcing scans; and what steps his Department plans to take to ensure radiology departments are sustainable financially.
Answered by Will Quince
No specific assessment has been made. To support the workforce as a whole, we have commissioned NHS England to develop a long term plan for the next 15 years, which will help ensure that we have the right numbers of staff with the right skills to transform and deliver high quality services fit for the future. The plan is for the whole of the National Health Service workforce and will not provide detailed assessments for individual services.
Feb. 22 2024
Source Page: Diagnostic imaging dataset for October 2023Found: detailed information about diagnostic imaging tests carried out on NHS patients, extracted from local Radiology
Asked by: Carlaw, Jackson (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Eastwood)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the total number of radiology training places has been in financial year (a) 2019-20, (b) 2020-21, (c) 2021-22, (d) 2022-23 and (e) 2023-24.
Answered by Gray, Neil - Cabinet Secretary for NHS Recovery, Health and Social Care
The number of medical training places is calculated by the training year they are advertised/filled rather than by financial year. Most posts start in August to September of each year, with a smaller number from a subsequent recruitment round starting in February. The figures quoted in the following table are specific to training years, with data for 2024 not yet available.
Year | Posts Advertised | Posts Filled |
2019 | 26 | 26 |
2020 | 39 | 39 |
2021 | 34 | 34 |
2022 | 37 | 37 |
2023 | 36 | 36 |
Asked by: Mochan, Carol (Scottish Labour - South Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many NHS boards currently use the system, TrakCare; in which clinical services they use the system, and how many staff are employed to maintain the system.
Answered by Gray, Neil - Cabinet Secretary for NHS Recovery, Health and Social Care
TrakCare is used as the main patient management system by 13 Health Boards:
All 13 Health Boards use TrakCare for waiting lists, Outpatients and inpatients, clinical coding, national Scottish Morbidity Records and new ways returns. Various Boards also use TrakCare for Emergency Departments, maternity services, mental health, community services, radiology, and theatres.
In addition, the system supports order request functionality for the service departments to manage the provision of laboratory, X-ray and diagnostic services; and Allied Health Professionals, observations, and clinical data recoding in clinical forms to varying degrees.
The Scottish Government does not collate or hold information on how many staff the Health Boards employ to maintain TrakCare.
Jan. 25 2024
Source Page: Diagnostic imaging dataset for September 2023Found: detailed information about diagnostic imaging tests carried out on NHS patients, extracted from local Radiology
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase the equality of access to paediatric interventional radiology services; and if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of those steps on (a) survival rates and (b) life-long health complications for children eligible for this care.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Surgery in Children Clinical Reference Group (CRG) provides clinical leadership and advice to NHS England and the Surgery in Children Operational Delivery Group, including on paediatric imaging and interventional radiology.
The issues linked to the concerns raised about access to interventional radiology are to be presented to the Women and Children’s Programme of Care Steering Group on the 28 June 2023, discussed at the Surgery in Children Clinical Reference Group meeting on 14 July and will also be presented to the Surgery in Children Operational Delivery Networks to incorporate into their respective network work programmes during 2023/24.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the report by the Royal College of Radiologists entitled Improving Paediatric Interventional Radiology services in the UK, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the report's findings on (a) the number of consultant paediatric interventional radiology posts in the UK and (b) the proportion of those that are outside London.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department will be discussing the geographic spread of posts with NHS England.
I have agreed to meet the Royal College of Radiologists so this matter will also be discussed in a meeting with them.
Asked by: Hamilton, Rachael (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what recent steps have been taken to improve diagnosis times for those affected by brain tumours.
Answered by Minto, Jenni - Minister for Public Health and Women's Health
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.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to take steps to ensure that paediatric interventional radiology service policies are in place for all hospitals that provide paediatric services.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Surgery in Children Clinical Reference Group (CRG) provides clinical leadership and advice to NHS England and the Surgery in Children Operational Delivery Group, including on paediatric imaging and interventional radiology.
The issues linked to the concerns raised about access to interventional radiology are to be presented to the Women and Children’s Programme of Care Steering Group on the 28 June 2023, discussed at the Surgery in Children Clinical Reference Group meeting on 14 July and will also be presented to the Surgery in Children Operational Delivery Networks to incorporate into their respective network work programmes during 2023/24.