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NHS Fife welcomed Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, Humza Yousaf MSP, to the Victoria Hospital earlier this week to see the work of the Board’s award-winning Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Service.

The Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Service (RCDS), which launched in 2021, provides a new clinical pathway to support the earlier diagnosis of patients with non-specific symptoms of possible cancer. NHS Fife was one of three Health Boards in Scotland who initially piloted the development of Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Services.

The work of the RCDS team in Fife was recently recognised at the Scottish Health Awards 2022, where the team picked up the coveted Innovation Award.

Mr Yousaf MSP met with advanced clinical nurse specialist, Katie Wilkin; lead cancer clinician, Neil Cruickshank; RCDS GP lead Dr Mairi Bowlerwell, and radiology head of service, Jane Anderson, along with Chief Executive, Carol Potter; and Medical Director, Dr Christopher McKenna.

The Cabinet Secretary also met with a number of patients who had been referred to the RCDS to learn about their own personal of the service. 

The visit of the Cabinet Secretary coincided with the publication of an independent interim report by the University of Strathclyde looking at data from the first year of the RCDS. The report found that across the three services, more than 12% of patients cared for received an early cancer diagnosis, with a further 33.8% receiving a diagnosis of a non-cancerous health issue.

Find out more about the work of the Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Service in Fife by visiting:- https://www.nhsfife.org/rcds/