Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government recognises the challenges that can sometimes affect access to healthcare in rural areas. All territorial NHS Boards, including NHS Dumfries and Galloway, are expected to offer services in ways that best suit the needs of their communities, using a patient-centred approach. We continue to work with Boards to support flexible and easily-accessible services, including for screening programmes and preventative services such as vaccination.

NHS Dumfries and Galloway has among the highest uptake rates for men in Scotland. Most screening programmes can offer appointments locally to participants, including those in rural and remote communities. Most NHS Boards, especially those serving large geographical areas, offer diabetic eye screening (DES) appointments at mobile locations, increasing accessibility. In NHS Dumfries and Galloway, the mobile service can additionally provide optical coherence tomography (OCT) scans where required.

Where it is not possible for screening programmes to be delivered locally, other methods are in place to ensure they are as accessible as possible. Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is delivered through eight designated centres located across Scotland, including a centre in NHS Dumfries and Galloway. All men are invited for a one-off AAA screening appointment at age 65, and in the year ending 31 March 2025, 85.8% of eligible men participated in AAA screening in NHS Dumfries and Galloway, exceeding the desirable uptake threshold for the programme. Bowel cancer screening uses home testing kits, making the service particularly accessible for people who live in remote and rural areas.

Vaccination is a key preventative health intervention and NHS Boards provide vaccination services at local venues such as GP practices, community pharmacies and other community settings, while eligible housebound individuals can receive vaccinations at home. Mobile units, provided by the Scottish Ambulance Service, are also used to deliver vaccination programmes in underserved communities, including rural and remote areas.

The Scottish Government continues to work closely with territorial Health Boards, Public Health Scotland (PHS) and Screening Oversight and Assurance Scotland (SOAS) to ensure these services are delivered in the most accessible way, including taking account of specific issues posed by rural geography.

The following tables, provided by Public Health Scotland, contain data concerning the annual numbers and crude rates for deaths by suicide among males resident in NHS Dumfries and Galloway from 2015 to 2024, along with annual Scotland-level numbers and crude rates for comparison.

In addition, five-year averages of the annual numbers and crude rates for deaths by suicide for NHS Dumfries and Galloway and Scotland have been included.

The figures show that Dumfries and Galloway has seen an increase in the average annual suicide rates for males in the latest 5 year period (2020-2024), compared to the previous five years (2015-2019); moving from an average of 11.2 to 15.4 deaths per 100,000 male residents. The current rate is comparable with the national average, which has remained steady over this ten year period.

The Scottish Government look at national trends using the data contained in table 1b and 2b, while local areas look at local trends using the data contained in table 1a and 2a. The data provided in table 1a and 2a is for Dumfries and Galloway only.

In Dumfries and Galloway, the local Suicide Prevention Action Group is delivering a range of targeted work, supporting the aims of our national strategy to reduce suicide rates and ensure that anyone affected by suicide gets the help they need. This includes:

?providing suicide prevention training sessions to men’s groups, or in workplaces with a majority of male employees

?delivering support to specific groups who may be at higher risk of suicide, including Armed Forces Veterans and LGBTQ+ community.

?working closely with National Farmers Union (NFU Scotland) and linking with FarmStrong to support the agricultural community

Data tables

Table 1a) Deaths caused by probable suicide and crude rates per 100,000 for male NHS Dumfries and Galloway residents by year; 2015 - 2024.

The Scottish Government is committed to improving life expectancy and tackling health inequalities across the whole population.

Life expectancy at birth for males in the Dumfries and Galloway council area in 2022-2024 was 77.2 years. This is the same as the life expectancy at birth for males in Scotland. Also, premature mortality rates for males in the NHS Dumfries and Galloway health board area have been lower than the equivalent national rate for Scotland in most years since 2006.

Last year, the Scottish Government and COSLA published the Population Health Framework, which sets out a cross-government, cross-sector approach to improving

life expectancy while reducing the gap in life expectancy between the 20% most deprived areas and the national average, by 2035. The Framework sets out the actions the Scottish Government and its partners are taking forward within the first two years by: supporting healthy environments; good early years and education; good work and income; and equitable health and care.

In addition, Scottish Government’s Programme for Government places a strong emphasis on the need to shift towards prevention and early intervention. This includes action to address alcohol and drug-related harm and to encourage healthier lifestyles among men, helping to reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, lung cancer and poor mental wellbeing. Embedding prevention across public services is fundamental to improving population health outcomes for individuals and securing the long-term sustainability of Scotland’s health and care system.

Consideration of future funding for Hybrid Closed Loop technology, including any further expansion of access, will form part of the Scottish Government’s wider budget and spending decisions for 2027-28. The Scottish Government remains committed to improving outcomes for people with Type 1 Diabetes and recognises the benefits that Hybrid Closed Loop systems can provide in supporting diabetes management and reducing long-term complications.

The Scottish Government has made no direct estimate of the economic cost of poor male health outcomes in Dumfries and Galloway.

Last year, the Scottish Government and COSLA published the Population Health Framework, with a whole-system, cross-sector approach to improving life expectancy and reducing health inequalities, including action in key areas that disproportionately affect men.

As noted in the Framework, maximising access to workplace support services, including online self-help at Healthy Working Lives and case management through Working Health Services Scotland, has the potential to significantly contribute to men’s health outcomes, through prevention of worsening ill health and active participation in labour market.

As part of the Population Health Framework, Scottish Government monitors outcomes using a range of tools including the ScotPHO Profiles tool (ScotPHO profiles) and the Scottish Health Survey (Scottish Health Survey). Both can be used to view outcomes for males in Dumfries and Galloway, among other breakdowns.

The latest published National Records of Scotland data on life expectancy at birth in Scotland (by council area) for the 5 year period covering 2020-2024, shows that for Dumfries and Galloway males in the 20% least deprived areas are expected to live 80.5 years, compared to those in the 20% most deprived areas who are expected to live 71.3 years – a difference of 9.2 years. Life expectancy at birth for males in Dumfries and Galloway in 2020-2024 was virtually the same as the male life expectancy for Scotland (around 77 years).

The evidence is clear that health and life expectancy are closely linked to the circumstances in which we are born, grow up, live, work and age, known as the wider determinants of health. Last year, alongside COSLA, the Scottish Government published a Population Health Framework: a cross government and cross-sector approach, focussed on prevention, which aims to improve life expectancy while reducing the gap in life expectancy between the 20% most deprived areas and the national average, by 2035.

The Framework sets out the actions the Scottish Government and its partners are taking forward within the first two years: supporting healthy environments; good early years and education; good work and income; and equitable health and care.

In the last three years, the Scottish Government has provided NHS Dumfries and Galloway with baseline funding as follows.

2026/27 - £462.8 million

2025/26 - £425.4 million

2024/25 - £364.7 million

Whilst the Scottish Government has overall responsibility for health and social care support policy in Scotland, the delivery of mental health services is the responsibility of local territorial Health Boards and Integration Joint Boards (IJBs). We expect Health Boards and IJBs to provide high-quality mental health services to their local areas that meet the needs of their communities.

In addition to this, £1,427,339 has been allocated to Third Sector organisations in the NHS Dumfries and Galloway area through the Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for adults. The following amounts have been provided in each year:

2026-27 - £450,372

2025-26 - £532,303

2024-25 - £444,664

The Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for adults supports a wide range of valuable community mental health projects, including those focused on men’s mental health and suicide prevention. It aims to build resilience, reduce the need for clinical interventions and improve mental wellbeing within communities.

The Fund is distributed in all 32 local authority areas of Scotland by Third Sector Interface (TSI) organisations who, working in collaboration with other local partners, are responsible for determining and allocating the funding to local community initiatives which support mental health and wellbeing. This is based on local priorities and in line with their local partnership plans.

The Scottish Government recognises that mountain biking makes an important contribution to tourism and local economies in Dumfries and Galloway. The region is home to five of the seven world-renowned 7stanes trail centres and has developed a strong reputation as a leading mountain biking destination.

The Scottish Government is aware of three economic impact assessments undertaken for the 7stanes network in 2004, 2007 and 2012. The most recent assessment estimated that the network generated approximately £11 million of net additional visitor expenditure annually across the South of Scotland and attracted almost 400,000 visits each year, with around 82% of visitors coming from outside the region. The studies also found that the network supported local businesses, increased overnight stays, and contributed to employment in rural communities.

While a more recent assessment of mountain biking's contribution to tourism expenditure in Dumfries and Galloway has not been undertaken, VisitScotland continues to work with partners through the South of Scotland Cycling Partnership to support cycling tourism through destination development and promotion, investment in trails and infrastructure, support for major events, and destination marketing activity. The South of Scotland's designation as a UCI Bike Label Region further reflects the importance of cycling and mountain biking to the area's visitor economy.

The Scottish Government recognises that high-quality mountain biking infrastructure is essential to maintaining Scotland's position as a leading destination for the sport.

Through the Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal, the Scottish Government has committed to investing £5 million across the south of Scotland in the 7Stanes mountain biking trails, subject to business case approval.

In addition, through sportscotland's Cycling Facilities Fund, the Scottish Government has supported investment in cycling infrastructure across Scotland, including £322,710 for Dalbeattie Community Initiative's Rocks and Wheels project in Dumfries and Galloway.

The Scottish Government continues to support the development of mountain biking infrastructure through sportscotland and its partners. This includes providing core funding to Developing Mountain Biking in Scotland, which leads delivery of the Scottish Mountain Bike Strategy, as well as working with partners to support the development, improvement, and maintenance of Scotland's trail network. Through this support, and by working with local communities and stakeholders to identify opportunities for future investment, we are helping to further strengthen Dumfries and Galloway's position as a world-class mountain biking destination.