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The Scottish Government has no plans to designate lisdexamfetamine (Elvanse ® ) as a specialist medicine or to explore options for commissioning the direct procurement of this medicine through National Services Scotland’s NHS National Procurement.

Manufacturing issues and increased global demand are the main reasons for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medicine supply issues and as such it is unlikely that a central procurement of lisdexamfetamine (Elvanse ® ) or of any other ADHD medicine would offer an effective solution. This is anticipated to be a short term problem.

The regulatory powers on the supply of medicines, are reserved to the UK Government and the Department of Health and Social Care’s Medicines Supply Team are co-ordinating the shortage of ADHD medicines at a UK level. Advice has been issued to healthcare professionals including on the availability of unlicensed imports. In addition, the UK Government has added lisdexamfetamine (Elvanse ® ) to the restricted medicines lists – which means it cannot be exported out of the UK.

The Scottish Government recognises the impact of these global shortages on people living with ADHD and their families. Scottish Government officials continue to engage with the UK Government on this supply issue and other shortages. NHS Scotland has robust systems in place to manage medicine shortages when they arise. Anyone affected by this issue should speak to their clinical team.

In order to receive a grant under the Scottish Dental Access Initiative, prospective applicants must set out their intention to i) establish a new practice or ii) extend an existing practice within designated geographical areas. Designated areas are defined by Scottish Government with reference to overall availability of General Dental Services. Once granted, SDAI funding is monitored to ensure ongoing compliance with a number of conditions which the grantee agrees to when signing the grant offer letter. These include.

Scottish Government officials are continuing to work with the design advisory group to establish the Anti-Racism Observatory for Scotland (AROS). The design advisory group is providing expert support ahead of a procurement process that will select a host for AROS.

This is an important step forward in our journey to a fairer Scotland for all, and will build upon the Anti-Racism Interim Governance Group’s participatory research work with over 500 individuals from racially minoritised communities across Scotland.

We are committed to completing an equality impact assessment before AROS is established. We will engage with stakeholders to examine the evidence available and understand the impacts that may be felt by communities.

The establishment of the Anti-Racism Observatory is one part of our wider strategic approach to tackling racism. We continue to work with all our partners and stakeholders to achieve our ambition of eradicating racism in Scotland.

The Bank Refund Guarantee for the two new vessels for the Little Minch routes was signed on 3 February 2023. The name of the financial institution that provided the guarantee is commercially confidential.

A clinical refresh of the Scottish Referral Guidelines for Suspected Cancer is underway to help ensure those with symptoms suspicious of cancer are put on the right pathway at the right time. These Guidelines have been developed for primary care clinicians to aid clinical decision making for those that require urgent specialist investigation.

Meanwhile, a new primary care cancer education platform – Gateway C – has been procured in NHS Scotland to provide innovative, and tailored information to support earlier cancer diagnosis efforts and enable effective decision-making. The first modules to be included on the platform will be launched in Spring 2024.

Scotland’s first Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Services (RCDSs) – established within existing NHS infrastructure – are operational in NHS Ayrshire and Arran, NHS Dumfries and Galloway NHS Fife, NHS Lanarkshire and NHS Borders, providing primary care with access to a new referral pathway for patients with non-specific symptoms suspicious of cancer.

The University of Strathclyde has completed a two year evaluation of Scotland’s first RCDSs showing that the services are achieving what they set out to do – find cancer – while delivering a high standard of care for primary care and patients at speed.

Two test beds continue to pilot chest x-ray AI in NHS Scotland, to help identify those with a suspicion of lung cancer following a chest x-ray, often requested by primary care clinicians. This work aims to reduce the time from primary care referral to the urgent suspicion of cancer (USC) diagnostic pathway commencing.

The Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for Adults has been a positive development in supporting the mental health and wellbeing of our local communities, with approximately 3300 grants made to local projects across Scotland in the first two years alone.

We are committed to providing this Fund going forward and are currently in the process of finalising mental health budgets for 2024-25. We will be able to confirm the amount of this funding once the budget allocations have been approved.

We know that the earlier cancer is diagnosed the easier it is to treat and even cure which is why we continue to invest in our Detect Cancer Earlier (DCE) Programme. The Programme takes a whole-systems approach to earlier detection and encompasses primary care, secondary care, public education, data, innovation and screening.

The DCE Programme works closely with the Scottish Cancer Coalition, to support awareness raising efforts and uses social channels to promote joint content and messages where possible.

Detect Cancer Earlier’s latest public campaign – Be The Early Bird - launched on
‎ 6 March 2023 and ran for four weeks, aiming to reduce fear of cancer and empower those with possible symptoms to act early. Following successful independent evaluation, the campaign re-ran in September 2023 to prompt health-seeking behaviour, targeting those aged 40+ from areas of deprivation.

In parallel to the campaign, a DCE roadshow visited communities across Scotland to reinforce key messages – this resulted in over 6,700 engagements with the target audience.

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting people at all stages of a potential or confirmed cancer diagnosis. We are investing in the Single Point of Contact programme so that people with a suspicion, or a diagnosis of cancer, are at the heart of all decisions and actions involving them. There are currently 12 pilot projects across Scotland testing ways of working that improve communication and provide early and ongoing support. A scalability assessment is underway which will outline how best we can scale up and expand the reach of the programme.

In addition to this, Scotland’s first Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Services (RCDSs) – established within existing NHS infrastructure – are operational in NHS Ayrshire and Arran, NHS Dumfries and Galloway NHS Fife, NHS Lanarkshire and NHS Borders. These are providing primary care with access to a new referral pathway for patients with non-specific symptoms suspicious of cancer. Patient navigators are embedded in RCDSs, supporting patients and their families from the point of referral while they wait for tests and results.

We are also currently working in partnership with Macmillan Cancer Support to improve the service we offer people affected by cancer through the Transforming Cancer Care Programme (TCC). This joint partnership is the first of its kind in the UK and ensures that every person with cancer in Scotland has access to a key support worker, who can provide emotional, financial and practical support to those who need it throughout their experience of cancer care.

Responsibility for delivery of Primary Medical Services rests with Health Boards and Health and Social Care Partnerships, and delivery plans should take account of local population health need. To assist local partners, in November 2023 the Scottish Government published The General Practice Access Principles [ General Practice Access Short Life Working Group: access principles - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) ]. This report sets out a clear framework for the core principles of how general medical services should be delivered. To support general practice, we have significantly expanded the primary care multi-disciplinary team workforce to support GPs and practice teams ensuring more people get the right care in the right place at the right time.

The Scottish Government is committed to investing more in General Practices servicing disadvantaged areas through targeted action like the Inclusion Health Action in General Practice project in Greater Glasgow & Clyde, with £1.3 million funding dedicated so far, and stabilising our Community Link Worker capacity in Glasgow, with £3.6 million funding already confirmed for three years from 2024-25 to 2026-27.