TESTING for a rare form of liver cancer is unfunded and falling short in Scotland, a charity has warned.

Charity APPR, which specialises in cholangiocarcinoma, has warned of a postcode lottery as the molecular profile tests needed to help define how it can be treated is funded by NHS England.

But despite agreements to roll out the practice, it remains unfunded in NHS Scotland, driving patients into the private sector.

AMMF chief executive Helen Morement called it “further evidence of harmful geographical inequality that prevents access to treatment that can improve a person’s chances of survival from months to years after a diagnosis.”

Benjamin Carey, 55, from Edinburgh, was initially misdiagnosed, before being treated for cholangiocarcinoma.

He said: “I’m lucky in that I’ve been told I’m in remission after surgery and potentially even cured, but I know other patients who have spent their savings on tests to access treatment because they were not funded by the NHS in Scotland.”

The Scottish government was contacted for comment.