More than 40 % of patients with a suspected bowel cancer detected as a result of Scotland's national screening programme are waiting more than eight weeks for a colonoscopy, according the latest statistics.
The report by Public Health Scotland also found a significant reduction in the proportion of patients being seen within the target time of four weeks amid "continued pressure on colonoscopy resources".
A total of 1,444 cases of bowel cancer were diagnosed between May 2021 and April 2023 as a result of screening plus follow-up tests. Most (61%) were picked up at the earliest two stages, when treatment is most likely to be successful.
Bowel cancer is the third most common cancer in Scotland with around 4,000 people diagnosed every year.
More than nine out of 10 people with the disease will survive for at least five years following diagnosis if it is caught at stage one.
All adults aged 50 to 74 in Scotland are invited to participate in the screening programme, using a home testing kit which is posted out to all eligible households.
Stool samples are then returned to the national screening centre in Tayside for processing.
Since November 2017, Scotland has used the FIT test - a more accurate screening tool which replaced the previously used Faecal Occult Blood Test (FOBT).
During the most recent two-year period under review, from May 1 2021 to April 30 2023, a total of 1,950,223 people were sent testing kits and 66% took part.
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A total of 36,267 samples tested positive for potential cancer, resulting in an automatic referral for a colonoscopy.
However, only three quarters of patients - 27,005 - attended for a colonoscopy, resulting in 1,444 cases of bowel cancer being diagnosed.
A further 12,530 people were found to have an adenoma - a growth in the bowel which can be a pre-cursor to cancer, but which can be removed.
A small number of patients - 63 - required admission to hospital as a result of complications caused by their colonoscopy.
PHS found that 22.3% of colonoscopies had been performed within four weeks of a referral, compared to 31% during the previous review period from May 2020 to April 2022.
Two in every five patients (40.6%) waited more than eight weeks to be see, up from 34% previously.
Residents in Lanarkshire and Greater Glasgow and Clyde health boards had the longest wait times, with 83.2% and 77.5% waiting longer than eight weeks for a colonoscopy.
PHS said: "There has been continued pressure on colonoscopy resources following the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, leading to longer waits and delays for patients."
Uptake of bowel screening was also lowest in the GGC region - at 61.7% - and, across Scotland, varied from a low of 54% in the most deprived communities to and 75% among the least deprived areas.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has responded to the figures by urging more of its residents to take part in screening.
Dr Emilia Crighton, the health board's director for public health, said: “While the thought of screening for bowel cancer may make some feel embarrassed or uncomfortable, there should be no stigma attached.
"It really is a simple test that can be done in privacy at home and, importantly, it is one that aims to find the cancer at an early stage.
"This means that treatment can commence earlier and is likely to be more effective.
“When a person’s test is due, a screening kit will be sent to their home.
"We are urging GGC residents that receive their screening kit in the mail, to take the test and follow the instructions for returning it with the pre-paid envelope that is included.
"This could take up less than five minutes of your day and save your life.”
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