Bowel Screening Wales completed its 10th anniversary in October 2018; however, this life-saving test is being ignored by almost half of the Welsh population. Bowel cancer is the second largest killer in Wales with >2200 diagnoses and 900 deaths each year.
The uptake rates for bowel cancer screening in Wales are not satisfactory. Only 53% of Welsh individuals are taking advantage of the free life-saving bowel screening programme. There is little regional variation in the uptake rates, but Merthyr Tydfil (49%), Cardiff (49%) and Wrexham (50%) are the areas requiring the most improvement.
Some of the highlights of the screening programme since October 2008 are
- 808,500 screening tests were sent out to individuals aged 60-74 years across the country.
- 22,500 individuals came back with a positive result and were invited to their local hospital for further tests.
- A colonoscopy was performed on 19,100 individuals.
- 2300 cases of bowel cancer were diagnosed.
On account of the 10th anniversary, a learning and celebration event will be conducted for the Public Health Wales staff in November.