FOI – 2023-000244 - Proton Beam Therapy treatment (HTML)

Date received – 12 July 2023 | Date responded – 28 July 2023

Request

How many patients have been sent outside of the UK for Proton Beam Therapy treatment in the last year for which you have statistics, and at what total cost?

Response

I refer to your freedom of information request that we received on 12 July 2023 requesting the following information:

How many patients have been sent outside of the UK for Proton Beam Therapy treatment in the last year for which you have statistics, and at what total cost?

I can advise you that we have now completed the search of our records and can provide you with the following information:

Under Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Act, 2002 (FOISA) an organization does not have to provide that information if it does not hold that information. National Service Division (NSD) is not aware of any referrals for residents within Scotland who require Proton Beam Therapy (PBT) at an oversees provider within the past year.

For background, the PBT Service is commissioned by NHS England on behalf of Scotland. Cases are discussed by a Scottish Panel who decide if onward referral to the UK PBT Service is appropriate. The UK expert panel ultimately decide whether the individual case is suitable for PBT, in line with NHS England clinical commissioning policies.

I trust you will find the information of assistance and if you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact us.

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Address

If after a review you are still unhappy, you also have the right to apply to the Scottish Information Commissioner, who can be contacted at Kinburn Castle, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9DS, or via their application form.

National Services Scotland (NSS) is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. You can view all FOI responses within our FOI Publications repository.