NHS TARGETED LUNG HEALTH CHECK SERVICE CARRIES OUT FIRST CT SCANS IN NORTH WARWICKSHIRE ROLLOUT
31 July 2024
The NHS in Coventry and Warwickshire has begun the rollout of the Targeted Lung Health Check service to North Warwickshire with the first patients receiving a low dose CT scan on Monday 22nd July.
The opening day of the service in North Warwickshire saw 46 patients receive a scan at the mobile unit, which was located at the Tesco Extra in Bedworth.
The Targeted Lung Health check programme targets people who are at higher risk of lung cancer - people aged between 55 and 74 and who are current or former smokers – and invites them to be assessed by a healthcare professional. Initially, they are invited for a telephone assessment and if they are deemed to have a higher risk of developing lung cancer, they will be invited to have a face-to-face appointment at a mobile CT scanner in convenient, accessible locations.
The North Warwickshire rollout comes after the service has proved extremely successful in Coventry and Rugby over the past 3 years.
So far, almost 28,500 lung checks have been carried out, resulting in almost 12,500 referrals for a low dose CT scan. This has increased the early detection of lung cancer from 20% before the programme launched to 80.8%, making a massive impact on the NHS’s ability to identify and treat lung cancer and dramatically increasing patients’ chances of survival.
The rollout will be carried out gradually over the course of the next 21 months and then a further expansion to South Warwickshire is expected in 2026.
Those who are eligible for a lung health check and who are a patient at a participating practice will receive a letter inviting them to book an initial phone assessment. If you believe you are eligible and haven’t received an invitation, please contact the Targeted Lung Health Check booking team on 02475 268 666, or email crlung.healthcheck@nhs.net.
Watch the video below to hear Dr Vicki Drought, Lung Cancer Lead and Respiratory Consultant at NHS University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, explain what people can expect from a lung health check.