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Written question asked by Baroness Merron (Labour) on Thursday, 25 April 2024, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Friday, 10 May 2024. It was answered by Lord Markham (Conservative) on Wednesday, 1 May 2024 on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care.


Bowel Cancer: Screening

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government which groups have a lower-than-average rate of participation in home-kit bowel cancer screening; and what plans they have to increase participation.

Answer

The national IT system for the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme does not routinely collect data that could identify groups that have a lower-than-average uptake rate of the fecal immunochemical bowel cancer screening test.

Research has found that groups which are less likely to take part in bowel screening include men, people from ethnic minority backgrounds, and people in more deprived areas. Physical or mental health conditions can also make carrying out a home test more difficult.

NHS England has started work to improve its national screening IT systems through the Digital Transformation of Screening programme. This will enable screening providers to record protected characteristics, to more accurately identify groups with the lowest uptake, and target initiatives to improve uptake.


Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL4105
Session
2023-24
Subjects
Screening Bowel cancer
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk