By Lucy Ashton
Jackie Baillie has told how she is worried people across West Dunbartonshire are facing a higher risk of cancer just because they stay in an area of poverty.
Statistics released by Public Health Scotland show clear inequalities in the uptake of bowel cancer screening. Figures from the 1st of May 2019 to the 30th of April 2021, show there was a 20 percentage point uptake gap between people in the most deprived areas (53 percent) and those in the least deprived areas (73 percent).
In the region covered by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde – which includes West Dunbartonshire – uptake of bowel screening during this period was lowest here than in any other area of Scotland.
Some 57.9 percent of eligible males took part in the screening programme while the Scottish average was 62.7 percent; 62.8 percent of females took up screening (67 percent Scottish average) and the overall figure was 60.4 percent (64.9 percent Scottish average).
The area also recorded some of the highest figures for the percentage of people with positive screening results.
Shockingly, more than 40 percent of those who recorded a positive screening test referral had to wait more than eight weeks to have a colonoscopy performed. This is well above the Scottish average of 26.9 percent.
Health Secretary Humza Yousaf, left, agreed with Jackie Baillie in Parliament on Wednesday that it was “unacceptable” that there was such an inequality gap.
Jackie Baillie, Dumbarton constituency MSP, said: “The statistics are clear. The poorest Scots, including people in the Dumbarton constituency, are far less likely to be screened than the wealthiest.
“This will only lead to greater numbers of late diagnoses among the poorest in our society and a greater number of deaths as a result. No one’s health should be determined by their socioeconomic status.
“Our NHS was founded to ensure that everyone has access to healthcare. If action is not taken now, this inequality will only grow and lives will be lost.
“Humza Yousaf must face up to this dangerous inequality and act now.”