You don’t need to be a doctor to understand that the earlier cancer is diagnosed, the higher a patient’s chance is of making a full recovery.
It’s the reason that cancer screening is such a vitally important part of our NHS.
We already know that the number of Scots who were diagnosed with cancer, and subsequently began treatment, dropped by more than 4000 last year as the pandemic raged.
The NHS was placed on a war footing and attention was switched to understanding the deadly coronavirus that left thousands fighting for their lives.
Thousands of non-essential surgeries were postponed for months, with many people still waiting now.
Health bosses face tough choices over what priorities to make as waiting lists grow longer and longer.
But that doesn’t excuse the story of Rachel Lees, who has been waiting seven months for a procedure that is meant to be booked within eight weeks of a regular cancer screening with her local GP.
The teacher has been left calling hospitals asking when her appointment is going to be – only to be told it could take longer than a year.
Rachel knows the chances are she is fine – but she’s concerned that many other Scots won’t be, if they’re left waiting so long for procedures that used to be a matter of routine.
Nicola Sturgeon and her ministers have been honest that getting the NHS back to pre-pandemic levels isn’t good enough.
An even bigger effort is required to ensure that waiting lists drop and lives are saved.
Ticked off
You can always trust a ticket tout to spoil things.
They’re grinches trying to ruin summer.
As young Scots prepare to embrace a restart to normal life, scalpers are targeting events such as TRNSMT, a flagship festival.
But the real story goes beyond the grasping parasites who hawk the tickets.
The UK’s law enforcement agencies – police, trading standards bodies and the Competition and Markets Authority – know all about the huge extent of lawbreaking and the damaging effects that touting has on consumers and the entertainment industry.
Viagogo should have been shut down for the endless breaches of UK law it has facilitated.
It is a disgrace that, to date, the powers that be have chosen to do practically nothing, despite laws being sharpened to help put the worst touts out of business.
