GLASGOW has pledged to help improve cancer services in war-ravaged Palestine.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde is to help oversee a new postgraduate diploma for specialist cancer nurses.

Glasgow's Lord Provost Sadie Docherty has also agreed to fund an annual placement for two Palestian nurses to spend two weeks at the Beaton West of Scotland Cancer Centre.

Health chiefs said one of the consequences of the Israeli conflict had been a scarcity of cancer training opportunities for oncology nurses in Palestine.

A rise in cancer rates has increased the burden on nurses. Cancer is the leading cause of death in the Palestine population, accounting for 11% of all deaths.

Glasgow's relationship with the city of Bethlehem goes back to 1992, when the then Lord Provost, Robert Innes, signed a friendship agreement with Palestine.

In 2012, two oncology specialists from NHSGGC visited Palestine to train medics at Bethlehem University.

The training included the treatment of breast and lung cancers and palliative care. This led to a proposal to develop a post graduate course in nursing at Bethlehem University.

Gerry O'Hare, an oncology clinical nurse specialist in Glasgow, has been working to develop the proposal over the past two years and will return to Palestine annually to help oversee the course.

Funding has been provided by the UK charity Medical Aid to Palestine.

Rosslyn Crocket, Board Nurse Director, NHSGGC said: "We are delighted to be involved with this initiative.

"The city of Glasgow has been twinned with Bethlehem since 2007 and has supported many successful projects in art, culture and education.

caroline.wilson@eveningtimes.co.uk