CANCER screening programmes have been paused by the Scottish Government in a bid to free up NHS resources to concentrate on the Covid-19 pandemic.
The temporary pause on some screening programmes, including breast, cervical and bowel, will be reviewed after 12 weeks or sooner to ensure the measure is not in place for longer than necessary.
Those who experience symptoms for conditions that are screened for, should continue to contact their GP. The move means that no additional patients will be invited for screening until further notice.
Results for those who have recently been screened or who have completed and returned home test kits will continue to be processed.
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First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “We have already required to take some extremely difficult decisions, for example, we have had to suspend elective surgery such as knee and hip replacements to create more capacity within our hospitals for Covid-19 patients.
“We have now also taken the very difficult decision to suspend several NHS screening programmes - including our programmes for breast screenings, cervical screening and bowel screening.
“That decision has been made on the basis of clinical advice form the chief medical officer and a recommendation by NHS National Services Scotland.”
She added: “As you can imagine, this is not a decision that we have taken lightly, however, it is important, in order to maximise the ability of the NHS to cope over the coming weeks.
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“It is not an easy decision but the balance of risk supports the approach that we are taking.
“If you detect any symptoms of the conditions we would normally screen for, if you notice a lump on your breast, for example, then you should contact your GP immediately.
“We will restart the screening programmes that we have paused as soon as we can. This is a temporary suspension and it will be reviewed after 12 weeks or earlier if evidence suggests that restarting the programme is feasible.
“At this moment, pausing these programmes is an important way of allowing the NHS to deal effectively with the impact of Covid-19.”
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Breast screening (mammograms), cervical screening (smear tests), bowel screening (home test kits), abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) screening (ultrasound of abdomen) and diabetic retinopathy screening (image taken of the eye) have all been put on pause.
Pregnancy and newborn screening programmes, including tests offered during pregnancy and just after birth, will continue as planned.
Scotland’s chief medical officer, Catherine Calderwood, said the move was “another very difficult decision that we had to take” and that staff absences due to Covid-19 could lead to the service not being provided effectively.
She added: “It was taken with very careful thought and deliberation but it’s a balance of risks that we believe is worth taking.
“Our main concern was that people would miss their screening appointments, perhaps because they were not able to attend the appointment if perhaps they were self isolating, or because they were choosing not to attend in order not to come in contact.
“In pausing the appointments, we will be able to recontact those people who are due to be screened during this three-month period and then invite them to attend - so that they will not have missed an important part of their healthcare.”
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