I was contacted this week by a constituent in Prestwick. He attended an appointment with his general practitioner on 30 December with a lesion on his back suspected to be skin cancer. His GP made an urgent referral to dermatology. Having twice been diagnosed with skin cancer, he knows that it demands urgent attention. Despite that, he was told that it would be

“over 12 months before he could be seen at hospital, despite the referral being marked urgent.”

For someone with suspected cancer, 12 months could be the difference between life and death. Does the First Minister think that that is an acceptable timescale? What action will the Scottish Government take to ensure that urgent cancer referrals such as that are seen within appropriate and safe timeframes?

If a clinician believes that a case is urgent, that priority should be reflected in the national health service. I do not know the details of the case that Sharon Dowey puts to me, but if she cares to provide us with the details, we will investigate the issues that she raises.

As I said in my answer to Jackie Baillie, urgent intervention on cancer-related cases is absolutely critical to ensuring that individuals have the best outcomes possible. If Sharon Dowey would care to provide me with the details, I will have those looked into today.