People living in Hull will be offered a new lung health check in their neighbourhood from January 2020, aimed at saving lives by detecting lung cancer and other lung conditions much earlier, when they are easier to treat.
Hull has been selected as one of ten sites in England to pilot the new NHS Lu
ng Health Check programme. The Humber Coast and Vale Cancer Alliance, incorporating NHS Hull Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (HUTHT), Hull GP surgeries and Yorkshire Cancer Research, has led the development of the programme in Hull which will run until March 2023.
People living in Hull aged from 55 to less than 75 who smoke, or used to smoke and have a Hull GP will be offered a new FREE NHS Lung Health Check from early 2020. If you are eligible for a lung health check you will receive a letter from your GP inviting you to make an appointment at a time convenient to you in a specially built mobile unit in your community.
Dr Vince Rawcliffe, GP lead for the NHS Lung Health Check programme in Hull, said:
“As a practising GP in Hull for many years, I have seen the impact of a lung cancer diagnosis on patients and their families. Lung cancer can be very difficult for doctors to diagnose at early stage. People often have no symptoms, or sometimes ignore symptoms, and then seek advice from their GP when the disease is advanced - making it more invasive and difficult to treat. People will be able to have their lung health check quickly and easily, and, in the vast majority of cases, it will give them reassurance that their lungs are in good health.”
Dr Stuart Baugh, Clinical Director, Humber, Coast and Vale Cancer Alliance said:
“This is an exciting programme that will bring huge benefits in diagnosing a range of illness, not just lung cancer, but also emphysema, bronchitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) at a much earlier and more treatable stage. I urge anyone, who receives a letter from their GP, to make an appointment. Lung Health Checks are delivered in the local community, at a convenient ti
me, making it as easy as possible for people to come for their check."
Chris Long, Chief Executive of Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust said:
“We know that people living in Hull often delay going to the GP with symptoms which later turn out to be serious or long-term health conditions, so the lung health check programme could be a real life-saver. Being able to identify problems such as bronchitis, COPD and lung cancer at an early stage gives our specialist teams a much better chance of being able to treat or at least manage those conditions more successfully. Delivering the lung health check programme has been a huge undertaking but one which could help to drastically improve the lung health of people living in this city. I’d like to thank and commend all those who have worked so hard to get the project to this exciting stage.”
For more information about the NHS Lung Health Check programme in Hull please visit www.lunghealthcheck.org.uk
