Bowel Screening Wales

Part of 2. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Services – in the Senedd at 2:35 pm on 25 April 2018.

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Photo of Vaughan Gething Vaughan Gething Labour 2:35, 25 April 2018

I recognise the concern. This is part of the difficult choice and challenge in making decisions. We, as every UK nation, are advised by the UK National Screening Committee, and that does recommend routine screening up to the age of 74. The Wales Screening Committee actually recently considered whether to offer bowel screening for those people who self-referred over the age of 74, but their recommendation to us is that the evidence does not support doing that; the position remains unchanged. Part of our challenge, as always, is where we have the greatest impact on health, and that is difficult because individual circumstances will arise where people say, 'I would like a different choice to be made by the whole system.' Our focus is on the successful roll-out of the newer and better test to the population that we currently have, and, actually, on increasing the uptake. The positive news is that pilots of the new test have shown an increased uptake in those pilot areas. So, I look for a significant improvement as we roll out the new test, and, of course, we'll continue to be guided by the best available advice and evidence. And, if that changes, then I'll be happy to consider changing the choice that the Government and the national health service make.