The Scottish Government has confirmed a £9m extension to a vital service for cancer patients.
The programme in question helps patients and their families better deal with the physical, emotional and financial effects of their disease by enabling access to a specialist key support worker.
This, in turn, gives clinicians more time to provide medical support to patients.
The Scottish Government estimates the number of new patients accessing the service will gradually increase over the next three years to a minimum of 14,000 people annually.
Having begun under the banner of the 2016 cancer strategy, the initiative is a collaboration between the government and Macmillan Cancer Support and is the first of its kind in the UK – £18m has been invested so far.
Head of partnerships at Macmillan Cancer Support in Scotland, Janice Preston, said: “This is a unique service for people affected by cancer that helps to reduce pressure on the NHS and is making a really positive difference to people living with cancer and their families.
“Since 2014, these vital, non-medical services have already helped over 18,500 people and this money will mean they can keep on transforming cancer support across Scotland.
“We are excited that, through our partnership with the Scottish Government, another £9m is being made available to ensure people can continue to get this help for another three years.”
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