Right team, right place is plan for Scots children with cancer

Chief Medical Officer Dr Catherine Calderwood said it would help to deliver a “safe, sustainable world class national service for children and young people with cancer in Scotland”.

Published by the Managed Service Network for Children and Young People with Cancer, this is the second such plan for Scotland.

Its priorities for the next three years is making sure children get the “right diagnosis, right treatment, right team in the right place.”

This includes a focus on working nationally to provide a seamless service across health boards.

It also wants improved research opportunities, and to make sure that all children and young people have the chance to take part in appropriate cancer clinical trials.

The plan highlights the need for an enhanced cancer registry specifically for Children and Young People in Scotland to enable comparison with other countries.

Another focus will be on managing care after cancer treatment and looking at care for teenagers and young adults (TYAs) with cancer.

Dr Calderwood said “Since 2011, MSN has made enormous progress, creating and fostering partnerships.

“The first plan enabled these partnerships to flourish and gave a shared understanding of the work needed to mould a single service.

“The time is now right to build on this early work and set out a new phase of activity for the next three years.”

Professor Hamish Wallace, national clinical director for MSN CYPC, said: “The objective is for all young patients with cancer to receive the right diagnosis, be treated with the right treatment, by the right team in the right place on their cancer journey and that they will always have the opportunity to participate in any national or international cancer clinical trial for which they are eligible.

“The most important driver for this is setting standards of care to achieve the very best clinical outcomes, whilst putting the needs of the patient and their loved ones at the centre.”