Latest news with #PublicHealthScotland
The Herald Scotland
12 hours ago
- Health
- The Herald Scotland
Scottish Government misses key skin cancer quality targets
A total of 10 of 15 Quality Performance Indicators (QPIs) were met in the last year, with persistent challenges in meeting targets related to pathology, imaging and systemic therapy, according to the latest Public Health Scotland data. The data also shows that the limited availability of pathology services and operating theatres in Scotland is causing delays in diagnosing and treating skin cancer. READ MORE: NHS 'dying before our eyes' as third of Scots go private NHS Scotland: 'neurological patients falling through cracks' NHS Scotland: Nearly £2 billion spent on temp nurses and midwives The quality performance indicator target 7 - which deals with pathology and theatre capacity - remains difficult to achieve, as regional reports highlight limited pathology service capacity and operating theatre availability as key barriers to meeting these standards. Performance on imaging scans for patients with melanoma has also declined and has fallen short of national targets. According to Public Health Scotland, this target worsened in 2023-2024 after some improvement in the previous year. The Scottish Conservatives have criticised the government for "shameful delays" to skin cancer treatment which puts "lives at risk". Scottish Conservative shadow health secretary Dr Sandesh Gulhane MSP said: 'Under the SNP, far too many patients are not being diagnosed and treated in time for skin cancer. 'We know that these shameful delays harm a patients chance of recovery and puts lives at risk. 'The SNP's failure to improve cancer services has led to a shortage of vital pathology support and operating theatre access, while performance on melanoma imaging scans continues to decline. 'With Scotland recently enjoying a heatwave and many people enjoying the sun, it was a timely reminder of the dangers of skin cancer — and the critical need for rapid, effective treatment. 'That's why the Scottish Conservatives have set out common-sense proposals to prioritise early detection, promote healthy lifestyles and guarantee cancer services will have the resources they need to support patients.' Most skin cancers are caused by exposure to the sun and, in May, new data published by the charity Melanoma Focus showed 45% of Scottish people suffer from sunburn at least once every year. There are around 17,500 new melanoma skin cancer cases in the UK every year and it is the sixth most common cancer in Scotland. Melanoma is considered the most serious form of skin cancer because it has the highest mortality rate, and deaths from melanoma are projected to continue to rise. The Scottish Government are committing £14 million for NHS Health Boards to improve cancer waiting times and £21 million targeted towards imaging. Ministers have said this is in addition to an increase in funding to address pressures within chemotherapy services, reaching up to £10 million annually by 2027, with £6.6 million released in 2025/26. Health Secretary Neil Gray said: 'Whilst we are treating more patients with cancer on time, within both standards, compared to the same quarter 6 years ago, it is vital we do more to reduce cancer waiting times, especially for those cancers which are more aggressive. 'As we see an increasing number of eligible cancer referrals, that means we also see an increase in demand for diagnostics. That is why we have committed to a range of actions to tackle waits. This includes expanding to seven-day radiology services, increasing recruitment of staff, using mobile scanning units and reducing radiology backlogs so that 95% of referrals are seen within six weeks by March 2026."
Daily Record
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
Acclaimed play heading to East Kilbride as part of its upcoming Scottish tour
The Junkie Miracles is being taken on tour around small theatres in various locations mainly in the west central belt. An acclaimed play by one of Scotland's best writers is heading to East Kilbride as part of its upcoming Scottish tour. The Junkie Miracles, which premiered three years ago at the Gaiety Theatre, in Ayr, is being taken on tour around small theatres in various locations mainly in the west central belt. This innovative production tells the stories of four addicts from different walks of life who have hit rock bottom and are tumbling into the abyss. Only four miracles can save them. In an inexplicable coincidence each of them, on the same day, is hit by the realisation that all hope of getting back to some semblance of their previous existence, is gone, if they don't do something immediately. Some of the main performers are recovering from their own addiction – whether that's alcohol or drugs – and their stories reflect their own and others' roads to recovery. The play is the concept of highly successful Glasgow writer, Des Dillon, who said: 'I asked these people to tell me about the worst day of their lives, the day they hit rock bottom, and what made them want to recover. 'Here, they do that with great effect. Their stories are unique but also largely unheard because of the stigma around substance they got there in the first place, the depth to which they plummeted and how they tried to get onto the road to recovery and whether or not they succeeded.' He added: 'Coming back out of that in some way or another, doesn't mean they are all necessarily happy endings either.' When the play was premiered at the Gaiety Theatre in Ayr, in the late summer of 2022, one observer noted the empathy felt for the characters by the audience which was drawn from all parts of the community. Since then the production has been under self-scrutiny, development and planning. The tour opens at the Regal Bathgate, on Friday September 5. It then heads to Stirling, and venues in Ayrshire and Lanarkshire before closing at Dumbarton Civic Centre on September 27. The Junkie Miracles performers represent a large, but largely hidden, proportion of Scottish society whose voices have been stifled because of the stigmatic predicament in which they find themselves. Scotland's drug problem remains the worst in Europe with an estimated 60,000 people blighted by addiction – and an unknown number of regular users. The latest statistics from Public Health Scotland (June 2025) say that Scots are drinking 50 per cent above the safe limits, with those in more deprived areas six times more likely to be hospitalised or die from alcohol related causes compared to those in less deprived communities. The Junkie Miracles will be performed at the East Kilbride Village Theatre on Monday, September 22. For ticket information visit the South Lanarkshire Leisure & Culture website.
Daily Record
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
Acclaimed play kicks off Scottish tour in West Lothian
The Junkie Miracles is being taken on tour around small theatres in various locations mainly in the west central belt. An acclaimed play by one of Scotland's best writers kicks off its Scottish tour in West Lothian in September. The Junkie Miracles, which premiered three years ago at the Gaiety Theatre, in Ayr, is being taken on tour around small theatres in various locations mainly in the west central belt. This innovative production tells the stories of four addicts from different walks of life who have hit rock bottom and are tumbling into the abyss. Only four miracles can save them. In an inexplicable coincidence each of them, on the same day, is hit by the realisation that all hope of getting back to some semblance of their previous existence, is gone, if they don't do something immediately. Some of the main performers are recovering from their own addiction – whether that's alcohol or drugs – and their stories reflect their own and others' roads to recovery. The play is the concept of highly successful Glasgow writer, Des Dillon, who said: 'I asked these people to tell me about the worst day of their lives, the day they hit rock bottom, and what made them want to recover. 'Here, they do that with great effect. Their stories are unique but also largely unheard because of the stigma around substance they got there in the first place, the depth to which they plummeted and how they tried to get onto the road to recovery and whether or not they succeeded.' He added: 'Coming back out of that in some way or another, doesn't mean they are all necessarily happy endings either.' When the play was premiered at the Gaiety Theatre in Ayr, in the late summer of 2022, one observer noted the empathy felt for the characters by the audience which was drawn from all parts of the community. Since then the production has been under self-scrutiny, development and planning. The tour opens at the Regal Bathgate, on Friday September 5. It then heads to Stirling, and venues in Ayrshire and Lanarkshire before closing at Dumbarton Civic Centre on September 27. The Junkie Miracles performers represent a large, but largely hidden, proportion of Scottish society whose voices have been stifled because of the stigmatic predicament in which they find themselves. Scotland's drug problem remains the worst in Europe with an estimated 60,000 people blighted by addiction – and an unknown number of regular users. The latest statistics from Public Health Scotland (June 2025) say that Scots are drinking 50 per cent above the safe limits, with those in more deprived areas six times more likely to be hospitalised or die from alcohol related causes compared to those in less deprived communities. The Junkie Miracles will be performed at the Regal Theatre in Bathgate on Friday, September 5. For ticket information visit the Regal's website.
BBC News
3 days ago
- Health
- BBC News
Why are ethnic minority groups falling behind on vaccines?
Last year data on childhood vaccines was broken down by ethnicity for the first showed a wide variation in uptake across ethnic minority groups and Public Health Scotland called for more work to understand what is going on. In some areas there is concerns that ethnic minority groups are falling behind the rest of the population when it comes to instance, the figures showed that almost a quarter of children of African descent in Scotland had not had their second dose of MMR by the age of was also low for children of Caribbean or Black cases have been increasing across Scotland and experts fear children are missing out on full protection against the potentially deadly disease by not getting their second uptake of vaccines in minority ethnic groups isn't just seen in childhood say Covid-19, flu and Human Papillomavirus (HPV) show similar why are ethnic minority groups often more hesitant when it comes to vaccination? What do the stats show? The BBC has analysed uptake rates across a range of vaccinations and across ethnic MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella) across Scotland as a whole, the number of children getting the first dose by the age of two is just below the World Health Organisation (WHO) target of 95% to ensure "herd immunity".The stats show that not as many children from ethnic minority groups, such as African and Caribbean or Black, are getting the first dose by the age of two but they catch up by the time they are five or uptake of the second dose, which provides full coverage against the diseases is concerning health 75% of children in the African ethnic group received the second dose by the age of five last year. The figure was 83.8% for Caribbean or Black people in Scotland and 87.3% in Asian death of a child in Liverpool earlier this month has sparked calls to increase efforts on part of the strategy, Public Health Scotland has introduced a "status check" and an opportunity to catch up on missed MMR doses in secondary to MMR, the HPV, Covid-19 and flu vaccine uptake show trends of lower uptake in minority ethnic Health Scotland data for the last flu vaccine programme shows that uptake varies from 55.2% in the White Scottish group, down to 36.2% in the Arab groups, 34.4% in the Pakistani groups and only 22.6% in the Caribbean groups of eligible adults. Vaccine hesitancy not anti-vax In June, a health inequalities report from Public Health Scotland studied the factors which had affected the uptake of the Covid and Flu vaccines in some ethnic pointed to a lack of trust in organisations promoting the vaccine, not enough information that is culturally and linguistically appropriate, a lack of flexibility in vaccine appointments and perceived harms from vaccines promoted via social Antonia Ho, a professor of infectious diseases at the University of Glasgow, tells the BBC it is important to understand that there were many reasons why people don't take up vaccinations - it is not simply a case of them being against vaccination."Vaccine hesitancy shouldn't be conflated with being anti-vax," she Ho says often people who don't take up vaccines have legitimate could include questions such as whether their ethnic group was represented in clinical trials, she research from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) also points to other barriers such as the timing and location of vaccine said: "Research and public health resources are sometimes misdirected by focusing too heavily on vaccine hesitancy, when in fact there are many parents who want to vaccinate but simply can't access services that work for them."The report also acknowledges a "growing disparity in vaccine uptake among some ethnic minority groups, socioeconomically disadvantaged families and migrant communities". Ethnic minorities treated differently Dr Sahira Dar, a GP in Glasgow and president of the British Islamic Medical Association, says it is important not to assign blame to minority ethnic communities. "We know that lower vaccine uptake and challenges to access appropriate health services are interlinked," she Dar says patient experience of healthcare can be more difficult depending on how someone is perceived by healthcare staff."If you are black, brown, or from an ethnic minority or if you are a refugee or a woman wearing a hijab, unfortunately patients from these groups are treated differently," Dr Dar says there is a correlation between these difficulties in healthcare settings and a general mistrust in the an issue that was highlighted in September last year by Scotland's Health Secretary Neil Gray. He acknowledged racism as a "significant public health challenge" and said combatting it was "fundamental" to reducing health inequalities in Scotland. Cultural barriers to healthcare According to Dr Dar, a lack of cultural understanding can be a barrier cites the example of the HPV vaccine, which prevents an infection which is sexually transmitted and is responsible for almost all cases of cervical of the HPV vaccine was reported by ethnicity for the first time in the 2023/2024 school year and it showed the rate was much lower in some ethnic minority first opportunity to get the vaccine is in the first year of secondary school when the White Scottish ethnic group had an uptake of 73.7%.In the same age group, uptake was lower (57.4%) in the Black ethnic group and (53.3%) in the Pakistani ethnic continues to be administered in school until S4, offering opportunities to catch up on coverage. It can also be available further on the some communities there can be stigma attached to conversations about sexual relationships and sexual Dar says some may view getting the HPV vaccine as encouraging Sigi Joseph, a GP in Glasgow, echoes this."Some cultures might think 'well my child isn't going to be having sex', so they might choose not to get the vaccine," she Joseph says understanding of different cultural barriers - such as Muslim women who prefer to be treated by another women for modesty - is vital otherwise it could result in people being turned away from accessing healthcare."If someone's had a stressful or difficult experience, they probably would talk to their friends and family," she says. "How far that filtrates is difficult to know." An overall distrust in 'the system' Dr Josephine Adekola, a senior lecturer specialising in disaster risk management at the University of Glasgow, began investigating the reasons for lower vaccine uptake in Scottish African communities in 2021 during the Covid pandemic - and heard a variety of concerns."A lot of the hesitancy was linked to discriminatory practices and racism," Dr Adekola her study, participants told her about long-running problems, with the immigration sector, schooling, housing, and even insufficient action being taken against workplace discrimination. "The different experiences of policies interrelate with misinformation and disinformation to create so much distrust in this community to make them hesitant," she Adekola says that lack of support and bad experiences with one sector can lead to people grouping separate parts of the government and public bodies together, resulting in an overall distrust in "the system". Misinformation spreads around the world Misinformation about vaccines is a widespread problem Dr Adekola says ethnic minority groups have the extra factor of receiving messages from trusted family members in different countries which contain misinformation or pressure not to get says that during the Covid pandemic she heard misinformation such as the suggestion that Black people were immune to the was also a conspiracy theory that linked getting the vaccine to the "Mark of the Beast" - a Biblical prophecy which says those that aren't "marked" will suffer economically, and those that are will be in allegiance with the is an issue which was also highlighted by Tory leader Kemi Badenoch who grew up in evidence at the UK Covid Inquiry in November 2023, she said there were "lots of conspiracy theories" shared in her own family's WhatsApp group chat and a lack of trust in the government in some communities. The 'ethnicity data gap' Dr Mark Wong, a senior lecturer at the University of Glasgow and expert in ethnicity data, also believes that racism is the key reason for poorer health outcomes for minority ethnic people and why there is a lower vaccine says people from minority ethnic backgrounds are not taken seriously when in healthcare Wong says they are often dismissed or what they say they are experiencing is not trusted as real."That has led to delays in diagnosis, delays in treatment and sometimes, ultimately, early, unnecessary deaths and health problems," Dr Wong adds that the mistrust minority ethnic people have towards public authorities and the "heightened alertness" in potentially being discriminated against is not fully understood, which results in public health messaging not effectively reaching or convincing minority ethnic communities. Dr Wong says proving the link between lower vaccine uptake and higher deaths in ethnic minority communities during the Covid-19 pandemic had been difficult initially because of a long-standing ethnicity data gap in says there was a "missed opportunity" at the very start of the pandemic to record ethnicity led to experts in Scotland relying on reporting from the rest of the UK which highlighted the disproportionately negative impact on minority ethnic Wong says he had highlighted this in a working group to the Scottish government at the end of 2020, around the same time as the Covid-19 vaccination rollout the recording of ethnicity data only began in November describes having this information documented now as a "turning point" for the quality of ethnicity data for vaccination programmes since response to the BBC's questions on vaccine uptake in ethnic minority groups, a Scottish government spokesperson said: "The Scottish Vaccination and Immunisation Programme will continue to focus on increasing uptake of the MMR vaccine, building confidence in communities and reducing health inequalities. "NHS Boards know their communities best and are responsible for local delivery plans which support accessible and timely vaccination for people who may face barriers to uptake."A Public Health Scotland statement said: "Scotland has a very successful vaccination and immunisation programme with high uptake/coverage rates. "However, as seen in other nations, there have been in declines in uptake over time and persistent health inequalities that leave some communities more vulnerable than others."
STV News
5 days ago
- Health
- STV News
Premature babies to be given new RSV vaccine
Premature babies can be given a new vaccine against a potentially life-threatening infection from later this year, the Scottish Government has confirmed. Public health minister Jenni Minto said the jab will be available for babies born before 32 weeks to protect them against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) over the winter period. Higher risk babies can receive the nirsevimab vaccine from September – with the single jab replacing five monthly injections previously given to infants classed as being at high risk. The move comes after advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation. Minto said RSV 'can be life-threatening to babies born very early'. She added: 'That is why I am pleased the single jab will be offered by all NHS boards across Scotland from this September, helping to protect these high-risk infants over winter. 'We will continue to work hard to protect Scotland's most vulnerable groups against the respiratory illnesses which circulate throughout the colder months. 'Our various prevention programmes help reduce avoidable admissions to hospital and therefore the pressure on our NHS.' RSV can lead to life-threatening pneumonia and the lung infection bronchiolitis in babies. The new vaccine comes after Scotland was the first nation in the UK to introduce another RSV jab, Abrysvo, for pregnant women and older adults last August. More than 70% of eligible older adults were given Abrysvo, with a study by Public Health Scotland, which was published in the Lancet, showing a 62% reduction in RSV-related hospitalisations amongst this group. Dr Sam Ghebrehewet, head of vaccination and immunisation at Public Health Scotland, said: 'The last year has seen significant progress in efforts to protect those most vulnerable to RSV, including the introduction of the maternal RSV vaccine which is offered at 28 weeks of pregnancy and helps protect newborn babies from serious illness. 'Babies born prematurely are at highest risk of serious complications from RSV and we welcome this programme expansion, which will help to ensure that even more babies are protected during their most vulnerable early months.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
