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The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) collects and analyses data relating to the provision of further and higher education in Scotland. Table 1 below highlights data from SFC showing both the recommended and actual intakes to pre-registration nursing and midwifery programmes, broken down by year from 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22. Nursing and Midwifery at the Open University in Scotland (OUiS) were funded through the SFC for the first time in 2021-22. As such figures for the SFC Early Statistics Collection are only available in 2021-22 and have been provided separately in Table 2.

Table 1

£10 million of funding has been directed to support Cancer Waiting Times improvements in our NHS across 2022-23. Significant funds are going towards up-skilling nurses and investing in diagnostic tests to support extended working days/weekend working to increase capacity.

Meanwhile, work is underway to develop Scotland’s new cancer strategy, expected to publish Spring 2023. A recent public consultation received over 250 responses, including from blood cancer charities. A series of workshops are planned throughout September to help gain further insight and hear directly from those with lived experience to inform the focus of this strategy.

Scottish Government officials are meeting with NHS Education Scotland on 27 September to explore primary care cancer education. This follows the recent cessation of Cancer Research UK’s Clinical Engagement Team that played a key role in delivering cancer education across NHS Scotland in recent years.

The questions used in the next Scottish Cancer Patient Experience Survey will be relevant to all cancer patients including those with blood cancer. The data collected will be broken down by cancer type and published as it has been in previous years.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-10404 on 20 September 2022. 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

Throughout the pandemic, a UK-wide approach to the procurement of therapeutics has been vital to allow the UK to have the buying power to secure significant numbers of therapeutics in a competitive global market. This approach has ensured patients across the UK have had equal access to safe and effective medicines.

Evusheld ® was developed and tested before the emergence of the Omicron variant, and the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s (MHRA) conditional marketing authorisation outlined some remaining questions, including how effective Evusheld ® is against Omicron and the duration of its effect against current circulating variants. As a result, there is currently no established supply arrangement for Evusheld ® in the UK. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is carrying out further testing on the effectiveness of Evusheld ® against the Omicron variants which involve “live virus” tests taking place in the lab (“in vitro”). These tests are important because they provide certainty of the effectiveness of Evusheld ® against circulating variants and avoid the risk of introducing new variants through viral mutations.

The Scottish Government continues to closely monitor the outcome of further research to ensure that any decisions to make Evusheld ® available to patients in Scotland in the future are based on the best available evidence.

The Scottish Stroke Improvement Programme (SSIP) Lead conducts a review process and meets with all NHS boards to understand the provision of stroke services and create a local action plan to improve performance where needed.

We recognise that the Scottish Stroke Care Standards are challenging for the service and expect Stroke Managed Clinical Networks and Health Boards to work together to drive forward quality improvement programmes of work to achieve these.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-10433 on 20 September 2022. 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.

The Scottish Stroke Improvement Programme report, published on 28 June, includes data from the Scottish Stroke Care Audit (SSCA). The SSCA measures quality of care of stroke services in each acute hospital, grouped by NHS board against the Scottish Stroke Care Standards.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-09978 on 24 August 2022. 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.