Dr Emilia Crighton – Director of Public Health at NHSGGC
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde’s annual screening report for 2021/22 showcases the achievements in relation to public health and early detection.
The report shows the performance across a number of screening programmes with the majority of programmes meeting expected annual targets.
Screening programmes across the health board continue to recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the commitment to early detection and timely interventions by providing comprehensive screening services is demonstrated within this report.
It reflects the dedication from our staff members to deliver high quality screening services that prevent or treat diseases at an early stage.
Key findings from the report indicate significant improvements in various screening programmes such as Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA), Bowel, Breast, Diabetic Eye Screening and Pregnancy.
Dr Emilia Crighton, Director of Public Health at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, said: “Early detection and management of diseases result in better outcomes for the public and our screening programmes play a vital role in this.
“This report highlights the hard work of our staff to ensure identification of potential health concerns at an early stage which can lead to improved treatment outcomes and ultimately saving lives.
“Notable areas of success are the newborn bloodspot and newborn hearing screening where there was over 99% uptake; the babies affected received timely treatment that improved their health or prevented significant disability.
“Breast and bowel screening programmes also met the uptake targets which reflects the organisations commitment to providing accessible services to help early detection and treatment of cancer.
“While the report demonstrates success across our screening programmes, I recognise there are improvements to be made across specific area such as cervical screening, where I would urge women to make the smear appointment when prompted as it can save their life.
“I would like to thank the dedicated staff across the whole of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde who have helped ensure our screening programmes continue to provide the best possible service for members of the public.
“I would also like to commend the individuals for coming forward and participating in our programmes to help us contribute to positive outcomes in patient health.”
The annual screening report can be found here.