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National Screening Programmes

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This page is designed to give an overview of the different screening programmes offered by NHS England.

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During all consultations, staff should encourage uptake of screening programmes for which the patient is eligible. If a patient does not attend a screening appointment, clinical admin should send patients a missed screening appointment letter via EMIS.

Bowel Screening

Bowel screening is a check done to look for any signs of bowel cancer. Patients are sent a home test kit, called a faecal immunochemical test (FIT), to collect a small faeces sample. The sample is then sent to the lab for testing. If these tests find anything unusual, the patient might be invited for further tests to confirm or rule out cancer.

Eligibility

Bowel screening is offered to patients every 2 years, between the ages of 60 and 74. Patients must be a resident of England to be invited.

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The programme is currently expanding to include people aged 50-59 years. For more information on this, click here.

Call & Recall

The NHS bowel cancer screening (BCSP) programme sends home test kits to eligible patients. If a patient is 75 years old and over, they can request a kit by calling the bowel cancer screening helpline on 0800 707 60 60.

❌ These screens are not done at Penrose Health.

Breast Screening

Breast screening (a.k.a mammogram) is a check done to look for cancers that are too small to see or feel. The screen involves having four breast X-rays, two for each breast. For more information about the appointment, click here.

Eligibility

Breast screening is offered to females, who are registered with a GP, every 3 years between the ages of 50 and 71.

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If the patient is non-binary, a trans man or a trans woman, they may be invited automatically (as each practice has a register of these patients). If not, they can ask for an appointment by contacting the practice. We can then send them the AccuRX text ‘Breast Screening Appointment (no invitation)’.

Call & Recall

The NHS breast screening (BSP) programme contacts eligible patients via letter.

❌ These screens are not done at Penrose Health. For a full list of breast screening clinics in South East London, click here.

Cervical Screening

Cervical screening (a.k.a. smear test or liquid-based cytology) involves taking a small sample of cells from a patients cervix. This sample is sent to the lab to test for certain types of human papilloma virus (HPV). These tests help us prevent cervical cancer.

Eligibility

A cervical screen is offered to all women and people with a cervix in certain age groups:

25-49 years of age: offered every three years
49-64 years of age: offered every five years
65+ years of age: should only be screened if they are still to be followed up after a previous borderline or worse result, or have never had a cervical smear

Call & Recall

✅ We perform cervical smears at Penrose Health.

Call & Recall is done via the Hippo Recaller (see ‣).

Once a patient receives an invite letter, a screening appointment should be booked with the nursing team. For more detail on this, please see our 🙋‍♀️Cervical Smears page.

Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) Screening

An AAA is any enlargement of the aorta (the blood vessel that carries blood away from the heart). Patients are screened for this so that it can be identified early, as it could get bigger and eventually burst. Screening is done via an ultrasound scan of the patients stomach. A detailed description of the process can be found here.

Eligibility

An AAA screen is offered to men aged 65 years and over. Screening is not usually offered to anyone who has previously been treated for an AAA, women, and men under 65.

Call & Recall

The National AAA Screening Programme (NAASP) contacts eligible patients via letter.

❌ These screens are not done at Penrose Health. For a list of screening locations, click here.

Diabetic eye screening

Diabetic eye screening is a test done to check for eye problems caused by diabetes. Patients are screened to identify issues early on, and prevent deterioration of the patients sight. The screen involves taking pictures of the back of the patients eyes. A video of the process can be found here.

Eligibility

A diabetic eye screen is offered annually to diabetic patients aged 12 or over.

Call & Recall

The NHS diabetic eye screening (DES) programme contacts eligible patients via letter.

❌ These screens are not done at Penrose Health. For a full list of diabetic eye screening clinics, click here.

Screening in pregnancy & newborn

Benefits of screening tests

There are several screening tests which are available to patients during pregnancy and after their baby is born. These tests aim to identify health conditions which could affect mum and/or baby. The screens offered are blood tests or ultrasound scans, or both. Screens are optional and present no risk to health.

During Pregnancy 🤰

Test	Week of pregnancy offered
Sickle cell, thalassaemia	Before 10
HIV, hepatitis B, syphilis	As early as possible
Down’s syndrome, Edwards’ syndrome, Patau’s syndrome	11-14
Screening for 11 physical conditions (’20-week scan’)	18-21

Postnatal 👶

Test	When offered
Newborn physical examination	Within 72 hours of giving birth
Newborn hearing screening	Within the first 4-5 weeks of birth
Newborn blood spot screening	When baby is 5 days old

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Screening tests can be followed by diagnostic tests (e.g., amniocentesis to test for Down’s Syndrome), which carry a risk of miscarriage. Again, these tests are optional. Patients can find information on diagnostic tests via the NHS website, or by speaking to their midwife or doctor.

Providers

These screens are provided by the patients maternity team (in a hospital setting), not at Penrose Health. However, our GPs should provide our patients with a ‘Screening tests for you and your baby’ leaflet for information.

Transgender patients

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If a patient changes gender marker, screening recalls for breast, cervix & AAA will be affected. The practice will be responsible for ensuring the appropriate screening is offered.

Explain to patients that they will not be recalled when changing gender marker.
Patients should be told which screenings are appropriate for them, and remind them when they should take place.
Where relevant, and with patient’s permission, identify the patient as transgender on sample paperwork.
Place alerts on the patient to ensure they are informed in good time.

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