Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced that new Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Services will be established in NHS Lanarkshire and NHS Borders.

£600,000 of funding will support the new services, with the aim of getting faster cancer diagnoses through a fast-track primary care route for patients with non-specific symptoms, including weight loss, fatigue and nausea.

There are already three Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Services in NHS Ayrshire & Arran, Fife, and Dumfries & Galloway, which were established in Spring 2021.

A new pathway will be established which aims for patients to receive an outcome within 21 days of referral.

Sturgeon said: “The best chance of surviving cancer remains early detection and treatment. Over the past year, we have established three new rapid cancer diagnostic services - in Ayrshire & Arran, Dumfries & Galloway and Fife. They have already supported hundreds of patients.

“More than one in seven of people referred to a fast track service were found to have cancer. Around half of them were from the poorest parts of the country - so these services are helping tackle health inequality too.

“I’m delighted to confirm today that two more services will open next year - one in the Borders and one in Lanarkshire. And by the end of this Parliament there will be a Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Service in every heath board in Scotland.”