Patient Information

• Bowel Cancer Screening – Cancer Matters Wessex
• Bowel Cancer Screening – Easy Reading Guide (PHE)
• Bowel Cancer Screening Easy Read Booklets (Bowel Cancer UK)

National Guidance:

NHS Bowel Cancer Screening programme (BCSP)
CRUK Bowel Screening Resources
CRUK Bowel Screening GP Good Practice Guide

FIT in Bowel Cancer Screening Programme

Guidance – How to use the bowel screening kit (CRUK)
How to do the FIT bowel cancer screening test (CRUK film)
Non-Responder follow-up call sample script (CRUK)
GP endorsement letter template – Evidence shows that endorsement from a family doctor can improve uptake of Bowel Cancer Screening.

Bowel Screening Quality Improvement Projects

This Bowel Screening QI Toolkit outlines two simple projects that can be undertaken within practices to increase screening uptake, and provides the templates and information needed.

Contacts

Southern Bowel Cancer Screening Hub – contact: rsc-tr.BCSPSouthernHub@nhs.net

Patients can order a new kit or get more information by contacting freephone 0800 707 6060

Requesting additional FIT kits – Further details on how replacement kits can be ordered.

Lynch Syndrome

Lynch Syndrome quick guide for Primary Care Clinicians

The Implementing Lynch syndrome testing and surveillance pathways handbook has been updated to reflect the change from CCGs to ICBs and to clarify that people who have Lynch syndrome will be enrolled into the Bowel Cancer Screening Programme for their surveillance colonoscopies.

Patient Information

• Breast Cancer Screening – Cancer Matters Wessex
• Breast screening for women with learning disabilities (NHS England)
• Breast Cancer Screening – Easy Reading Guide (PHE)

 

National Guidance: NHS Breast Screening Programme (BSP)

• Follow best practice and standard guidelines (GOV.UK)
• Use information leaflets & promotional materials (PHE)

Breast screening services in Wessex:

IOW- Direct telephone number 01983 534560, E mail address: iownt.breastscreeningunit@nhs.net
Southampton, SW Hampshire; Phone 023 8120 4959, Email bsuappts@uhs.nhs.uk
Portsmouth- 023 9228 3613 or 023 9228 3614
Dorset- 01202 665511, dbsu@uhd.nhs.uk

Visit our Cervical Screening page for useful links and resources.

Lung cancer screening is rolling out across Dorset, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

Lung cancer screening aims to detect cancer at an earlier stage, when curative treatment is more likely.

Why is screening in lung cancer important?

• Lung cancer often has no signs or symptoms at an early stage, and can often go undetected
• Lung cancer is the most common cause of death in the UK, accounting for 21% of all cancers (Cancer Research UK)
• Lung cancer deaths in England are more common in people living in the most deprived areas
• Smoking is the biggest cause of lung cancer (Cancer Research UK)

 

The eligibility criteria for the programme is:

• Aged between 55 and 74 years old
• Current or former smoker – registered with a SNOMED smoking code on patient record (minimum smoking criteria is 100 cigarettes in a lifetime)
• Registered with a GP in a screening catchment area

Patients are identified by smoking status in their primary care records. This guide demonstrates steps to improve data completion to capture eligible participants. The examples given are based on SystemOne, however the process is similar in EMIS.

For patients who do not want to disclose smoking history to their GP, but meet the eligibility criteria, we encourage them to contact the Lung Cancer Screening teams directly to enrol.

SNOMED coding guidance

How to Improve Smoking Status Data in Your Practice

 

The Lung Cancer Screening pathway

Participants who are registered as an ever smoker in GP records will receive an invitation letter in the post to receive a ‘lung health check’.

This is a stratified risk assessment which determines eligibility for a low-dose CT scan by using two validated questionnaires to review patient risk of developing lung cancer.

Questionnaires will query factors such as smoking history, family history of lung cancer and respiratory health.

 

Lung Cancer Screening in Wessex

Currently, screening is available in the following locations:

• Southampton
• New Forest
• Eastleigh
• Andover
• Alton
• Basingstoke
• Fareham
• Gosport
• Portsmouth
• Bournemouth
• Poole
• Portland
• Weymouth
• Winchester

Please note, there are currently no live programmes in North Dorset, Havant, Bordon or Isle of Wight. Areas are expected to launch – dates to be confirmed.

 

National documents:

NHS England – Targeted screening for lung cancer with low dose CT

• Standard operating protocol: B1646-standard-protocol-targeted-lung-health-checks-programme
• Quality assurance: B1647-quality-assurance-standards-targeted-lung-health-checks-programme

Top tips

• Check patient contact details at each encounter and regularly maintain the practice list
• Ensure that Prior Notification Lists (PNLs) (Cervical screening) and ‘advance lists’ (Bowel screening) are dealt with promptly, where available
• Ensure that when DNA or non-responder reports are received for a patient, this is flagged on their notes, using the correct SNOMED Code
• Offer cervical screening opportunistically, if due or appointment missed
• Encourage staff and patients to view video demonstrations of the Bowel cancer screening FIT test kit, so that they are familiar with how to use the kit
• Add electronic alerts on patient records for DNAs/non-responders, enabling ALL practice staff to identify and encourage screening participation to patients whenever they contact the practice
• Carry out monthly searches to identify people who have not responded to their recent screening invitation
• Take care not to contact patients for whom it may be inappropriate for their GP to encourage screening participation at this time (e.g. people undergoing treatment for the cancer for which screening is offered; people receiving palliative and end of life care; women who have had a hysterectomy
• Use PHE Fingertips to assess practice coverage for screening programmes compared to local or national baselines.

Download our QIP Cervical Cancer Screening document.

Download our toolkit for increasing uptake of Cervical Screening in people with a learning disability below: 

Download our customisable posters to display in your GP Surgery