Genomics in Scotland strategy: business and regulatory impact assessment

3. Consultation

Within Government

We have engaged internally with other policy teams. Included in these discussions were:

• Chief Scientist Office
• Chief Medical Officer
• Chief Nursing Officer/Allied Health Professionals
• Digital Health and Care
• Pharmacy and Medicines
• National strategies/specialist healthcare
• Diagnostics
• National Screening Programmes
• Population health - pathogen genomics
• Workforce
• Healthcare Science
• Person-centeredness and participation
• Realistic Medicine
• Health Technologies

We have also engaged with governance groups aligned to the Scottish Strategic Network for Genomic Medicine (SSNGM) and other stakeholder bodies, including:

• Scottish Cancer Network
• Managed Service Network for Children and Young People with Cancer
• NHS Education for Scotland
• Healthcare Improvement Scotland
• Scottish Strategic Network for Diagnostics (SSND)
• Clinical Genetics Forum
• Scottish Pathology Network (SPAN)
• Haematology and Transfusion Scotland (HaTS)
• Scottish Medicines Consortium
• Research Data Scotland

In addition, we have engaged directly with the following Health Boards and groups: National Services Division of NHS National Services Scotland, Public Health Scotland, with territorial Boards through the Scottish Association of Medical Directors, Board Chief Executives, Directors of Pharmacy, HR Directors and Information Governance Leads as well as regional genomic laboratories and clinical genetics services hosted by territorial Boards.

Public consultation

We did not carry out a public consultation as part of the development of this strategy. The focus of the initial one-year implementation plan for the strategy will be on foundational work needed to key decisions, particularly around digital and data infrastructure. We intend to work closely with the SSNGM Patient Involvement Advisory Group to ensure that public views around core pieces of work are sought appropriately as part of this process.

Business/Third Sector

We have consulted with the Scottish Cancer Coalition (SCC) on the strategy. The SCC is a partnership of third sector organisations dedicated to improving cancer services and outcomes for patients in Scotland. We also consulted with Genetic Alliance UK, an alliance of over 200 charities and support groups across the UK working to improve the lives of people with genetic, rare, and undiagnosed conditions.

We also consulted with industry, via the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) and the NHS Research Scotland Industry Partnership Group, and with academic groups from across Scotland.