Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to (a) increase the capacity of colonoscopy services and (b) ensure patients from the bowel cancer screening programme are seen within the targeted waiting times.

The National Health Service is taking steps to improve bowel cancer outcomes for patients across England. We will improve cancer survival rates and hit all NHS cancer waiting time targets, so no patient, including those referred through the bowel cancer screening programme, waits longer than they should.

We are transforming diagnostic services, which will support the NHS to increase capacity to meet the demand for diagnostic services, through investment in new capacity, including magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography scanners. A national transformation project has been established to enable and support the timely recovery of gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy services. Endoscopy services have also been established in several Community Diagnostic Centres throughout the country, which also contributes to the timely recovery of GI endoscopy services.

Furthermore, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines encourage general practitioners to use Faecal Immunochemical Test kits for symptomatic patients to rule out the need for a colonoscopy, which increases the capacity of available colonoscopists for the bowel screening program.