Ms Terri Martin:

The translabial scanner became available in 2019, which I acknowledge was before the pandemic. It was March 2019 that access to the treatment abroad scheme was taken away. Access had been granted by Deputy Harris when he was Minister for Health but it was taken away in March 2019. The most recent correspondence I received stated the treatment abroad scheme was available for complications that cannot be dealt with in this country. In the meantime, we have a member who was sanctioned for the treatment abroad scheme for one surgery in the UK but the treatment required reconstruction after the initial removal, which was not sanctioned. That meant she could not go ahead with the treatment because only one part of it was available to her under the treatment abroad scheme. I heard nothing more about it until the most recent correspondence with the Minister in which he said the treatment abroad scheme was available again for complications that could not be dealt with in this country.