Scottish patient information

The Paediatric and Young Adult Spinal Deformity (scoliosis) is currently funded by National Services Division (NSD). NSD is a division within NHS Scotland. NSD receives separate funding from the Scottish Government  to commission and manage certain specialist services where local or even regional commissioning is not appropriate. The aim is to concentrate the treatment to certain locations, encouraging the development of specialist skills in recognised centre of excellence.

www.nsd.scot.nhs.uk/services/specserv/spinaldeformity.html

Paediatric patients up to and including  the age of 16 years with the following diagnosis can be referred to the service:

  • Idiopathic scoliosis (infantile, juvenile and adolescent)

  • Congenital scoliosis

  • Severe Scheurmann’s kyphosis

  • Neurological conditions such as cerebral palsy, and syndromic conditions which present with a similar constellation of symptoms (for children over the age of 10 years)

  • Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

 

Children with the following conditions should receive clinical consideration from the service on a case by case basis:

  • Other neuromuscular conditions including Spinal Muscular Atrophy and Myotonic Dystrophy

  • Neurofibromatosis

  • Post-irradiation scoliosis

 

Adult patients can be referred up to the age of 40 years with the following diagnosis:

  • Congenital spinal deformity

  • Severe Scheuermann’s kyphosis

  • High grade dysplastic spondylolisthesis

  • Late onset or missed idiopathic adolescent scoliosis

  • Kyphosis due to Ankylosing Spondylitis.

 

All referrals have to be tertiary (by a hospital consultant)

 

Current Review:

NHS Scotland is currently undertaking a review of Spinal Services in Scotland and funding arrangements may change.  In the future NSD (National Service Division) may only support a National Spinal Deformity Service for children and adolescents.  Responsibility for the provision of adult scoliosis surgery may return to the individual Health Boards of residence (www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Health/NHS-Scotland).

Adult patients or children who don’t fulfill the inclusion criteria would be excluded from NSD funding and require a supportive clinician to make a request for exceptional funding at the local health board giving details of the patients circumstances and why they should be considered “exceptional”. Patients with successful claims cand be referred to specialist Scoliosis unit like Edinburgh.