18,000 smokers in Grimsby could have their lives saved by lung health check
The service is being expanded from other areas of Lincolnshire
Last updated 11th Sep 2023
More than 18,000 current and ex-smokers across Grimsby could have their lives saved - as a lung health check comes to the area.
The NHS service has already been delivered across other parts of Lincolnshire and Hull - carrying out 10,000 CT scans since it started.
It is being delivered in phases across North East Lincolnshire and has already welcomed over 600 people living in Immingham since March 2023.
It is estimated that more than 18,000 eligible participants registered with a GP practice in Grimsby, will receive their invitation before the end of March 2024.
We're told the process will involve a letter, a phone call, before booking in eligible people for a CT scan.
Dr Stuart Baugh tells us more about the impact of the programme:
"Unfortunately, most people that present with lung cancer through the traditional routes, 75% of them will have disease at an advanced stage.
"However we know that with the lung health check programme, 75% of the people we're diagnosing are at early stage lung cancer.
"We think we're diagnosing people 18- 24 months earlier than we would have done otherwise.
"The importance of this is that the earlier we diagnose, the easier it is to treat and you're much more likely to be cured."
Brian Crowe from Immingham tells us about taking part:
"Although I've stopped for well over 20 years I was a heavy smoker back then.
"I wanted to take part in the screening process because we have had cancer in our family and awful lot and when its discovered early - its more treatable.
"When I went in there was some nervousness because I was thinking, what if there's something to be found?
"But I thought well at the very worst if they find something they've got it early, not in the advanced stages where its too late."
How you can take part:
The service has started to invite people living in Grimsby who are current and former smokers, and aged between 55 and 74.
Anyone eligible will receive a letter from the GP over the next few months asking them to make an appointment with a respiratory nurse.
Following this, some people may be invited to attend a CT scan on a mobile unit that has just arrived at Tesco on Market Street in Grimsby.