A local MSP is calling for action to reduce paediatric waiting times in the health board region for his constituency.
At a recent conference, Jackson Carlaw, who represents Eastwood, visited a stall hosted by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) Scotland – the UK membership body for paediatricians.
In a report published by the RCPCH last year, it was set out that more than half of Scotland’s fourteen regional health boards had managed to reduce waiting times of over 12 weeks for paediatric care.
However, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde was in the minority of health boards to have experienced an increase in the number of children and young people waiting more than 12 weeks for support.
The data published by the charity highlights that in September 2023, 19.2 percent of patients in the health board region were waiting more than 12 weeks.
One year later and this figure for Greater Glasgow and Clyde had increased to 24.7 percent in September 2024.
As part of his responsibilities at parliament, Mr Carlaw is the Convener of the Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee and it has examined dangerous delays in paediatric cancer diagnosis.
The Health Secretary has provided written evidence to the committee and advised that he has initiated a range of work in this area such as a clinician-led review of current cancer waiting time standards including paediatric, teenage and young adult cancers.
The work also includes exploring whether six Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Services to help identify cancer in adults, with non-specific suspicious symptoms, at an earlier stage can be expanded to provide care for children and young people.
Scottish Conservative MSP for Eastwood, Jackson Carlaw said:
“The published data showing that there has been an increase in waiting times of over 12 weeks for paediatric care in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde is a serious concern.
“It is important that there is a concerted effort to reduce waits of more than 12 weeks in Eastwood’s health board region and to deliver the required medical care for young people in the shortest possible timescale.
“The petition at Holyrood on the delays with paediatric cancer diagnosis has highlighted that this critically important issue needs to be addressed and the various initiatives now underway must lead to positive change.”
