Health boardsin chargeof payouts

Health Secretary Jeane Freeman has said it is up to individual health boards whether they reimburse chronic pain patients who travelled to England for treatment or not.

Pain relief services for patients with chronic conditions were paused at the start of the coronavirus pandemic as part of efforts to prepare NHS Scotland for treating COVID-19 cases.

Asked whether people will be reimbursed for the costs of the treatments received while NHS Scotland services have been paused, Ms Freeman said health boards can choose to do so on a case-by-case basis but it is normally agreed before treatment happens.

She added: “That option is there, however, the health board normally agrees before an individual seeks treatment out of the country, whether they will pay for that.

“But it is a decision that sits with the health boards.”

Speaking on the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland programme, Ms Freeman added: “Individual cases will be looked at by each of our health boards and they will make a decision about what they think is the right thing to do.”

The Health Secretary also said NHS Scotland is looking to restart pain relief services as soon as it is safe to do so, having pledged the publication of a “recovery framework” for pain management services in the near future.

Scotland’s national clinical director, Prof Jason Leitch, previously said the government was “remobilising” and chronic pain treatment was something they were looking to get back in place as soon as possible.