Bowel Screening

Explore NHS Health Scotland resources on the bowel screening programme in Scotland. You’ll find publicity materials, clinical standards and policy documents, plus a DVD providing information on bowel cancer, screening and animated instructions on ´Doing the Test´.

The Scottish Bowel Screening Programme invites men and women aged between 50 and 74 to take part in screening every two years.

Men and women aged 75 and over can still take a bowel screening test every two years if they want to. They won’t automatically be sent a test every two years though, so they will need to ask for one. For more information call the Bowel Screening Centre Helpline, free of charge on 0800 0121 833 (textphone 180010800 0121 833) or email bowelscreening.tayside@nhs.net.

Scottish Bowel Screening Programme DVD

NHS Health Scotland and the Scottish Bowel Screening Programme have developed a DVD resource to support boards in conveying key messages about bowel cancer and the screening test.

The DVD promotes informed uptake by providing a clear and practical guide on how to perform the screening test.

You can also view this DVD in the following languages:

British Sign Language (with English subtitles)

Cantonese (voiceover with Traditional Chinese subtitles)

Polish (voiceover with Polish subtitles)

Punjabi (voiceover with Punjabi subtitles)

Sylheti (voiceover with English subtitles)

Urdu (voiceover with Urdu subtitles)

If you have trouble viewing any of the above versions, the DVD is also available in sections to download (mp4):

British Sign Language version without ´Doing the test´ animated feature.
Doing the test (animation only) BSL.

English version without ´Doing the test´ animated feature.
Doing the test (animation only) English.

Cantonese version without ´Doing the test´ animated feature.
Doing the test (animation only) - Cantonese.

Polish version without ´Doing the test´ animated feature.
Doing the test (animation only) - Polish.

Urdu version without ´Doing the test´ animated feature.
Doing the test (animation only) - Urdu.

Sylheti version without ´Doing the test´ animated feature.
Doing the test (animation only) - Sylheti.

Punjabi version without ´Doing the test´ animated feature.
Doing the test (animation only) - Punjabi.

If you have any queries about accessing the DVD, please contact your system administrator.

Bowel scope screening

In 2014 and 2015, there was a pilot programme offering bowel scope screening in four NHS Health Boards to some men and women aged around 60 in addition to their home screening kit. This pilot programme has now ended.

Updated 16 June 2016