Detecting Cancer Early - Bowel Screening Programme
The Bute Practice encourages all patients who receive a kit to participate in this important screening.
About the screening programme
The Scottish Bowel Cancer Screening Programme will invite all men and women between the ages of 50 and 74 years who are registered with a GP.
It is therefore vital that you inform Rothesay Health Centre reception staff of your latest address so the co-ordinators can send you regular invitations for screening.
Other eligible individuals who are not registered with a General practice such as prisoners, armed forces, homeless and individuals in long-stay institutions will also be able to participate.
How will the screening programme be run?
All men and women aged between 50 and 74 will receive a Faecal Occult Blood test (FOBt) kit by post to their home address. The kit is completed at home and returned to the national Bowel Screening Centre for Scotland, which is based in Dundee at King’s Cross Hospital.
The centre tests all the completed screening kits and then notifies:
- all participants of their results
- all GP practices of positive FOBt results
- all NHS Boards of positive results requiring further investigations.
Over 75
From April 2013, if you’re 75 or over you can still take a bowel screening test every two years if you want to. The co-ordinators won’t automatically send you a test kit every two years though, so you’ll need to ask for one.
It’s still free – just call the Bowel Screening Centre Helpline on 0800 0121 833 (textphone 180010800 0121 833).
Additional Information
Bowel Screening Leaflet (PDF, 5.53MB)
Additional Websites
https://www.nhsinform.scot/healthy-living/screening/bowel-screening/
The Bowel Screening Leaflet is available in other languages
Bowel screening test booklet - Publications - Public Health Scotland