1. Bowel Screening in Wales
The First Two Years
Hayley Heard
Head of Programme

2. Bowel Screening Programme
Implemented October 2008
National coverage
Initial eligible age range years
Eligible population identified and invited
Home faecal occult blood test kit
Tested centrally
Positive – referred to SSP
Colonoscopy if appropriate
Aim – reduce mortality from bowel cancer in population screened by15% by 2020
No self referrals

3. Welsh Bowel Screening Centre
Invitation to visit

4. Local Assessment Centres

5. First Round of Screening
Invitation and Testing
People invited 412,000
Uptake 55%
Spoilt test kit 1.7%
Positivity rate 2.8%
People contacted helpline 57,620
People booked SSP appointments 6,807
(1.8% females, 3.0% males)

6. First Round of Screening
Specialist Screening Practitioners
16 SSP’s
Referrals to SSP 7,293
Waiting time average 2 weeks
Appointments attended 82.7%
Found fit for colonoscopy 90%

7. First Round of Screening
Colonoscopy
16 approved Screening Colonoscopists
Waiting time average 10 weeks
Colonoscopies undertaken 5,230
DNA colonoscopy 0.2%
Decline colonoscopy 2.8%

8. First Round of Screening
Pathology
Cancers detected 414 (7.9%)
Dukes A 32.7%
Polyps detected 3,224 (62%)
Inflammatory Bowel Disease 120 (2.3%)

9. First Round of Screening
Radiology
Referrals 2.1%
CT 2.07%
Barium enema 0.07%

10. First Round of Screening
Adverse Events
Events reported 55
Bowel perforations reported 3
No deaths

11. First Round Challenges
High Positivity Rate
Local Assessment Centre Capacity
Assessment of Screening Colonoscopists
Information Management System

12. Ongoing Challenges Improve Uptake Age Extension Surveillance
Recruiting Screening Colonoscopists
Electronic Quality Assurance Data

13. Potential Developments
Flexible Sigmoidoscopy Screening
Revised Testing Strategy
Network MDT for Complex Polyps
National Referral Centre for Complex Polyps
Screening for Hard to Reach Groups
Research

14. Thank You