Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:16 pm on 18 October 2022.
Well, Llywydd, I'm afraid I don't recognise the description offered by the Member. As you heard Mike Hedges say, the age range of people eligible for bowel screening in Wales is being extended, and there is a very purposeful plan to go on reducing that age and, at the same time, to make the test itself more effective in diagnosis. Bowel cancer screening in Wales, particularly since the new test, the faecal immunochemical test, was introduced in January 2019, is a success story. We are persuading more people to take it up than ever before. The results they get are more accurate than they ever have been, and as a result of lowering the age range, an additional 172,000 people will be invited for screening between October, this month, and September of next year. I think that is a success story, and it's a tribute to those very dedicated people who have worked so hard to make it a success.