Bowel Cancer: Screening

(asked on 12th October 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the NHS’s ability to clear the backlog of bowel cancer screenings; and how long his Department estimates it will take for waiting times to return to pre-covid-19 levels.


Answered by
Jo Churchill Portrait
Jo Churchill
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This question was answered on 4th November 2020

NHS England and NHS Improvement are working to clear the backlog of bowel cancer screening as quickly as possible. All 64 bowel screening centres are now undertaking diagnostic colonoscopies and sending routine screening invitations.

The time it will take for waiting times to return to pre-COVID-19 levels depends on a variety of factors, including the ongoing impact of COVID-19. However, as at 5 October 2020, the number of people who have had a faecal immunochemical test-positive result and are awaiting a diagnostic test has nearly halved in comparison to those waiting in April 2020.

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