Bowel Cancer: Screening

(asked on 27th January 2016) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 19 January 2016 to Question 21839, what steps he is taking to ensure that engagement with the National Bowel Screening Programme continues to increase; and what (a) national and (b) local targets his Department has for such engagement.


Answered by
 Portrait
Jane Ellison
This question was answered on 1st February 2016

NHS England, commissioners of the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme, closely monitor the coverage rates for bowel cancer screening in all eligible age groups and is committed to increasing uptake and reducing variation across England. Local NHS England commissioners analyse coverage rates within their area and seek to improve uptake by sharing best practice.

The Independent Cancer Taskforce published its report, Achieving World-Class Cancer Outcomes in July last year, and recognised the importance of early diagnosis and screening. The taskforce recommended an ambition that 75% of people participate in bowel screening by 2020. To facilitate this change, they recommended a change to a new test, the Faecal Immunochemical Test (FIT) which is an easier to use test than the current Faecal Occult Blood (FOB) test and improves uptake. On 15 January 2016 the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) announced the recommendations it made at its 19 November 2015 meeting. The UK NSC has recommended that FIT be used as the primary test for bowel cancer instead of the currently used FOB test. Ministers are now considering the UK NSC’s recommendation.

Information on the average cost to the National Health Service of a colonoscopy performed following a positive screening test for bowel cancer is not held centrally. Information is available in the following table and is from reference costs, which are the average unit costs to NHS trusts and foundation trusts of providing defined services to patients. Reference costs for acute care are published by healthcare resource group (HRG), which are standard groupings of similar treatments that use similar resources.

Estimated average unit cost of a diagnostic colonoscopy reported by NHS trusts and foundation trusts, 2014-15

Procedure

Average unit cost

Diagnostic colonoscopy, 19 years and over

£519

Diagnostic colonoscopy with biopsy, 19 years and over

£604

Source: Reference costs, Department of Health

Note:

The unit costs shown are the average of costs reported across a range of settings including elective inpatient, non-elective inpatient, day case and regular day and night attenders.

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