'High risk' patients called for lung cancer screening

Shannen HeadleyBBC News, West Midlands
News imageUHCW The main entrance to University Hospitals Coventry and WarwickshireUHCW
University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire, which has bought a scanner to screen up to 50 patients a day

A lifesaving lung cancer screening programme is set to be extended in Warwickshire.

A scanner purchased by the University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) NHS Trust will screen up to 50 people a day, seven days a week.

Since launching in Coventry and Rugby in 2021, the trust said 80% of lung cancers that have been diagnosed through the programme have been detected at stages one and two.

Patients who are categorised as high-risk following a phone consultation will be invited for a scan.

The scanner will visit sites across the region from Monday, with the service set to be rolled out across south Warwickshire in 2026.

Caspar Lisle-Pourzyaie, lung cancer screening operations manager, said the scans will aim to detect tiny nodules in the lungs.

He said: "By introducing our own scanner and transitioning the service in-house, we are enhancing its long-term sustainability."

For the rest of December, the scanner will be at:

  • Hospital of St Cross, Rugby -15 December to 17 December
  • Paybody Centre, Stanton Road, Coventry - 18 December to 23 December
  • Hospital of St Cross, Rugby - 24 December

Appointments will be for smokers or ex-smokers, aged 55 to 74, said the Trust.

Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.