Part of 3. 2. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Well-being and Sport – in the Senedd at 2:50 pm on 21 June 2017.
Thank you for that answer, Cabinet Secretary. Wales has opted to set a much higher sensitivity threshold for the FIT screening. While it is lower than the level set in England, it is double the level set in Scotland, and eight times higher than the threshold set elsewhere in Europe. Cancer Research UK state that the reason for the much higher threshold is due to the lack of endoscopy capacity here in Wales. Wales routinely sees around 1,000 patients waiting more than eight weeks for a colonoscopy. If we are to maximise the benefits of the FIT test, we must increase endoscopy capacity. Cabinet Secretary, what actions are you taking to increase capacity and will you consider lowering the FIT screening threshold once we have sufficient colonoscopy capacity?