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Patient’s appeal after cancer terror

• ‘Take the test – it could save your life’: grateful patient urges others to use bowel screening kit

A patient who feels his life was saved by a simple bowel screening test is encouraging everyone to take the test when it drops through their door.

Colin Mearns, a 54-year-old photographer from Glasgow, made national news last month when he told his story, and explained how sending away his sample led to the early discovery of cancer.

Colin was one of thousands of people who are sent a bowel screening test every day. Everyone aged 50 to 74 years receives a kit every two years, and it only takes a couple of minutes to use the test and send it back for screening.

And for Colin, those couple of minutes meant his cancer was spotted early and, following an operation at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital to remove the affected part of his bowel, he is now cancer free.

Bowel cancer is one of the most common cancers in Scotland. Around 4,000 people get it every year according to Public Health Scotland (PHS). It is treatable and curable – and if it’s found early nine out of ten people survive bowel cancer.

And that – the importance of early diagnosis – was the key for Colin. He said: “Because I did the test and sent it back quickly, my tumour was still at the early stages, and while at the time it was very traumatic to hear the ‘C’ word, and to face up to the fact I had cancer, the quick treatment I received means I can now look forward to a life without cancer.”

PHS data shows that, while two-thirds of people who were sent the screening kit, did it and returned it, the other third don’t.

That’s a statistic that Dr Emilia Crighton, Director of Public Health at NHSGGC, would like to change. She said: “If it’s detected early, bowel cancer is treatable and, in the vast majority of cases, curable.

“We understand that some people might put it off to a time when they’re less busy, or maybe just feel embarrassed about returning a stool sample, but we would encourage everyone not to wait.

“People like Colin are proof that taking this simple test really can change a life. Even if you’ve missed one in the past, taking the test when it drops through your door is so important.”

Dr Crighton stressed that taking the test and sending it back does not necessarily mean you will have to undergo a colonoscopy. In fact, only a relatively few – around 2-3% – have test results that suggest the need for a colonoscopy.

If in the unlikely event a cancer is found, doing the test in this way means it has been caught at an early enough stage that an operation is often enough to remove the cancer.

She also pointed out that if you find blood in your stool, or you worry you might have any other symptoms, you shouldn’t wait until the next test is posted to you.

“When it comes to bowel cancer, early detection is the key, so please don’t wait – if you’re experiencing symptoms that worry you, call your GP and get yourself checked out.”

To find out more about bowel screening or to order a test kit, go to NHS Inform. Alternatively, call the Scottish Bowel Screening Centre on 0800 0121 833.

As part of the ongoing programme of improvement work in women’s services, NHS Lothian has commissioned a report to help strengthen its ‘valued and dedicated’ teams.

Researchers worked with staff over a number of weeks to provide clear insight about their views on workplace culture and how it impacts them. 

It comes as part of an intensive improvement programme after concerns were raised in a whistleblowing report about patient safety and working culture within women’s services in NHS Lothian.

Patient safety was obviously prioritised and a tremendous amount of work has since been carried out to robustly review all aspects of care and workforce, including working patterns, training and environment. There has also been investment in 31 additional midwives and other staff in the directorate. 

The focus has now turned to the concerns around working culture and the need to improve support for hard-pressed frontline staff.

Caroline Hiscox, Chief Executive, NHS Lothian, said: “Our colleagues are the backbone of NHS Lothian and the improvement work in women’s services continues to be taken extremely seriously.

“That is why I asked our Deputy Chief Executive and our Director of People and Culture to provide Executive leadership for the improvement programme which includes oversight of these next steps to ensure staff can trust in our commitment to them.”

Tom Power, Director of People and Culture, NHS Lothian, said the report identified positives and negatives in workplace culture, revealing extra support is needed to address issues in the directorate to bring it into line with the organisational values.

He added: “Our improvement plan prioritised patient safety and care to give us assurance that we were providing safe care to women and babies.

“Now, in this latest round of work, we are focussing on our teams and our leadership to make sure staff feel supported at work, safe to raise concerns and able to thrive.

“We commissioned this independent research because we wanted to leave no stone unturned in our efforts to get a truly comprehensive picture of the experience of our teams in Women’s Services.”

The review praised frontline staff for their dedication, compassion and teamwork and noted the strong sense of peer support and collaboration among clinical staff, to help maintain safe, high quality care.

However, the findings also indicate relationships with leaders were often strained, causing problems with general work wellbeing, stress and even bullying or perceptions of unfair treatment and frustration.

He added: “I apologise to those who have been let down at work and reassure them that we are determined to support them better to do the job they love.

“During the focus sessions, many of our staff talked about their role in women’s services as being a “calling”, such is their level of dedication to providing care for women and babies.

“I would like to reassure women and their families, as the report make clear, that they and their babies will receive high-quality care from our committed and professional staff.”

The findings and suggested actions have been discussed directly with teams and they have been merged into the overall improvement plan which began in August 2024.

It began after a whistleblowing report raised questions about patient safety and working culture within women’s services. It also focussed on a rare incidence of maternal death which is the subject of a forthcoming Significant Adverse Event (SAE) review.

NHS Lothian continues to await the outcome of the SAE and address any recommendations from that, however actions in relation to the whistleblowing concerns are already underway.

All aspects of patient care and workforce as well as staff working patterns, training and environment have been reviewed. Engagement with staff was immediate and an improvement plan was designed with staff in an open and transparent process.

This work with the independent consultancy was part of that wide-ranging programme.