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AGENDA ITEM 5
NHS BOURNEMOUTH AND POOLE AND NHS DORSET
DORSET BOWEL SCREENING PROGRAMME: BRIEFING ON PROGRESS
AND NATIONAL SYMPTOM AWARENESS INITIATIVE
1.
INTRODUCTION
1.1
This briefing is to update members of Health Overview and Scrutiny
Committees about local progress in relation to Bowel Cancer
Screening, and the forthcoming national public awareness campaign
about signs and symptoms of bowel cancer.
2.
DORSET BOWEL SCREENING PROGRAMME
2.1
The Dorset Bowel Screening Programme has now been running for
nearly four years. It invites residents from Bournemouth, Poole and
Dorset aged 60-69 to have a simple test once every two years to detect
possible signs of bowel cancer.
2.2
Each year the programme invites around 65,000 adults to take part in
screening. The proportion of people accepting the invite is about 62 per
cent, higher than the national average. Of the people accepting the
screening invitation, about 2.3 per cent have abnormal results and are
called for an assessment and diagnostic test, known as colonoscopy.
2.3
On average the screening programme detects around 50 cancers per
year. The screening programme also asks some people to return for
ongoing surveillance.
3.
AGE EXTENSION OF BOWEL SCREENING
3.1
In April 2010 the screening programme began inviting people in the 7075 age range as part of its age extension. Following age extension,
more people began to accept the invitation for screening, and more
people tested positive because they were in an older age group.
3.2
The impact of these changes began to put the programme under
pressure during the winter of 2010-2011, and it struggled to meet its
target to offer everyone testing positive an assessment and
colonoscopy within 14 days.
3.3
In May 2011 a decision was taken to pause invitations for screening to
allow the programme to recover. A recovery plan was agreed, and the
programme began recruiting additional screening staff to cope with the
increased workload.
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AGENDA ITEM 5
3.4
Since invitations were restarted in August, the programme has been
able to offer everyone testing positive a colonoscopy within 14 days, in
line with national standards. Performance on this standard has been
99-100 per cent for the past four months.
4.
NATIONAL BOWEL SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS CAMPAIGN
4.1
The Department of Health is running a national media campaign to
increase the public’s awareness of the signs and symptoms of bowel
cancer, starting at the end of January and running for nine weeks until
March.
4.2
The campaign is being run because of a national drive to improve
survival rates for people diagnosed with bowel cancer, by encouraging
earlier presentation. In Dorset, survival rates for bowel cancer are
currently among the best in the country.
4.3
The media campaign will feature a series of TV advertisements using a
clear message, “Be Clear on Cancer”. The public will be asked to see
their GP if they have experienced a change in bowel habit persisting for
more than three weeks, or if they notice blood in their stool.
4.4
The campaign is based on experience following two pilot campaigns
last year, one of which was in South West England. These campaigns
did appear to increase the number of people presenting with possible
signs of bowel cancer. As yet, it is not clear whether more people were
diagnosed with bowel cancer as a result of the campaign.
4.5
Dorset Cancer Network is working with local GP practices to support
them in managing the additional people expected to visit their GP as a
result of the campaign. The Department of Health estimates that this is
likely to be one to two people on average per practice, equating to
around 100 additional people within Bournemouth and Poole who will
need a colonoscopy.
4.6
The PCT is working with local hospitals to plan for the additional people
who may need to be offered this test to ensure it has minimal impact on
waiting times locally.
Sam Crowe
Consultant in Public Health
NHS Bournemouth and Poole
January 2012
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