A Lung Health Check is an MOT for your lungs and will check that they are working as they should be. The Targeted Lung Health Check programme aims to improve early diagnosis and survival rates for lung cancer by providing quick and easy screenings for people at higher risk of lung conditions. We want as many people as possible to attend their Lung Health Check. The Lung Health Check takes part in two stages. The first is a telephone appointment to assess your risk level. If you are found to be at higher risk, you will be invited to have a face-to-face appointment with a nurse and a low dose CT scan (the second stage). The CT will take pictures of your lungs and show us if there are any issues which need further tests or treatment.

The first part of the Lung Health Check will be a telephone appointment. If you are found to be at higher risk, you will then be invited to have a face-to-face appointment, this will take place in one of our mobile units. The mobile units will be parked in community venues, such as supermarket car parks with good transport links for ease of access.

If you’ve received a Lung Health Check invitation letter from your GP, it is because you meet the criteria for an initial appointment. It is important that you attend your Lung Health Check, as it could spot any problems with your lungs before you know they’re there. If problems such as lung cancer are spotted early, treatment could be simpler and more effective. Alternatively, the Lung Health Check may tell you that your lungs are healthy and functioning well, in which case we will advise you on ways to keep healthy.

For SWAG Cancer Alliance’s programme, you must be…

• Aged 55 and 74
• Currently smoke tobacco, or have smoked in the past (more than 100 cigarettes in your lifetime.

For this programme - you need to live in central Gloucester, Bridgwater, West Bath, North Bristol, South Bristol or central Bristol and be registered with a GP practice in one of the following primary care networks:

Central Gloucester City: Inner City PCN

Bridgwater: Bridgwater Bay PCN

BSW: West Bath: St Michaels, Junction Rd, Rush Hill Surgeries

South Bristol: Swift PCN

North Bristol: Northern Arc PCN

Central Bristol: Bristol Inner City PCN

You will receive a letter through the post with an appointment for your telephone Lung Health Check. If the timing of the appointment does not suit you, you can ring up and change it. We will remind you of the appointment 72 and 24 hours before via text message.

You will receive a letter through the post with an appointment for your telephone Lung Health Check. If the timing of the appointment does not suit you, you can ring up and change it. We will remind you of the appointment 72 and 24 hours before via text message.

There are a number of reasons why someone might not be offered a low dose CT scan and these include:

• They are at lower risk of lung disease, and so the scan is not necessary
• They are unable to lie flat
• They are unable to transfer onto the CT scanning bed
• They weigh more than 200kg/31.5 stones
• They are not physically strong enough to proceed with tests and treatment if a serious lung condition if found, or they have other medical conditions that make further tests and treatment impossible.
• They do not have capacity to consent to the CT scan and it is not in their best interests to have one.

There are 43 sites around England. Across the 43 sites, it is expected that up to 1.5m people will be invited for a check.

Data from the Targeted Lung Health Check Programme so far shows that with these potentially life-saving checks, lung cancer early diagnosis rates can be as high as 80% - compared to less than 30% without this type of intervention – enabling doctors to treat cases sooner, when curative treatment is more possible, saving more lives.

The NHS are looking at the evidence from these sites and considering plans for further rollout across the country by 2024/2025.

Small lung cancers often causes no symptoms, and people can be unaware they have one. Once a lung tumour has become large enough to cause symptoms, there are often fewer effective treatment options. Targeted Lung Health Checks can help diagnose lung cancer early, when tumours are small, and treatment is more likely to be successful. As a result, Lung Health Checks can stop people dying of lung cancer.

The telephone assessment is an appointment to assess your lung health and overall risk level. You will be asked questions about your breathing, any symptoms you may have, lifestyle, and family and medical history. You will be asked to tell us your height and weight.

If you are considered to be high-risk, you will be booked into a face-to-face appointment and CT scan at one of our mobile units. If you are not considered high risk, you will be offered advice about keeping your lung healthy in future and given some information about lung health. We will let your GP know that you have had a Lung Health Check and the result.

You will meet a Lung Health Check nurse who will talk to you about your symptoms and general health. You may be invited to blow into a tube to assess your lung function (spirometry). You will then have an ultra-low-dose CT scan, which will take pictures of your lungs and let us look at them in detail. The CT scanner is like a doughnut or polo mint, and you will not be enclosed or covered up at all. The CT scan takes a few minutes and the total time on board the unit will be around 30 minutes. You will be able to ask questions before, during or after the CT scan. More information can be found in the participant leaflet you will receive with your appointment letter.

You may need to remove your coat, but you can leave your clothing on. If you are a woman, we advise you wear a non-wired bra.

Yes, you can bring someone along with you to the appointment. But please keep his to just one person where possible since waiting space at the scanning unit is limited.

If you have a carer or need an interpreter, then you can have them with you. People who are hard of hearing or for whom English is not a first language will be provided with an interpreter as required. These appointments will be booked as double slots to allow enough time for discussion. Please let us know if you have any additional needs at the time of booking the face-to-face appointment and we will do our best to accommodate you.

Somerset, Wiltshire, Avon and Gloucestershire (SWAG) Alliance has been selected as part of Phase 3 of NHS England and Improvement’s Targeted Lung Health Check programme. The money for this is coming from NHS England.

The patient booklet has been translated into a range of languages. These are available in electronic format on the programme’s website www.swaglunghealthcheck.nhs.uk. Translation and interpretation services for the face-to-face appointment can be requested through the telephone booking service. Please let us know if you have any additional needs at the time of booking the CT scan and we will do our best to accommodate you.

Should anything be identified either during the discussion with a nurse or from the CT scan, you will be contacted within two weeks, either by letter or telephone. If you’ve had a scan, you will receive an outcome letter explaining what your CT scan showed. This will include information around what was found, what it means for you and next steps. A report of this finding will also be sent to your GP practice. Depending on the result, you may be invited to a follow up scan either 3 months, 12 months or 24 months after your first scan. In the unlikely case we find something that requires immediate action, we will contact you via telephone within days of your scan. Please wait four weeks to hear from our team. If you haven’t heard after this time, please contact our bookings team: 0117 233 8127

The Targeted Lung Health Check is currently being offered to those most at risk of lung problems. Data shows those between the age of 55 and 74 who currently or previously smoked are at a higher risk and are the most likely to benefit from a Lung Health Check. Younger people and never smokers are less likely to benefit. If you have any symptoms or are concerned about your lung health, you should book an appointment to see your GP straight away.

The Targeted Lung Health Check Programme is being rolled out across England. SWAG Cancer Alliance received funding to deliver Lung Health Checks to 27,000 people. A range of indicators have been used to make sure we are offering the service to the 27,000 who stand to gain the most from the service.

In future, we hope to be able to offer Lung Health Checks to all eligible people in the Somerset, Wiltshire, Avon and Gloucestershire area (and the rest of the UK), but we do not have a timeframe for national rollout at present.

In the meantime, anyone who is worried about the symptoms below, or has any other concerns about their lungs should see their GP as soon as possible:

• A persistent cough or change in your normal cough
• Coughing up blood
• Being short of breath
• Unexplained tiredness or weight loss
• An ache or pain when breathing or coughing
• Appetite loss

Within two weeks of your scan, you will receive an outcome letter explaining what your CT scan showed. This will include information around what was found, what it means for you and next steps. A report of this finding will also be sent to your GP practice.

 

If a minor nodule is found, you may be asked to return for further scans at 3,6,12 or 24 months. If a nothing significant is found, you will be asked to return for a further scan 24 months later to confirm all is well. Your outcome letter will acknowledge this, and you will receive a separate invitation letter to that follow-up scan nearer to the time. This will look similar to the original letter you received, including details about the pre-booked appointment and how to change the appointment if needed.

 

In the unlikely case we find something that requires immediate action, we will contact you via telephone within days of your scan.

 

Please wait four weeks to hear from our team. If you haven’t heard after this time, please contact our bookings team: 0117 233 8127

If you don't meet the below criteria, you will not be invited for your lung health check by your GP as part of this pilot programme.

You must be:

• Aged 55 and under 75
• A smoker or have ever smoked (more than 100 cigarettes)

For SWAG’s TLHC programme, you need to be living in central Gloucester, Bridgwater, West Bath, North Bristol, South Bristol or central Bristol and be registered with a GP practice in one of the following PCNs:

• Central Gloucester City: Inner City PCN
• Bridgwater: Bridgwater Bay PCN
• BSW: West Bath: St Michaels, Junction Rd, Rush Hill Surgeries
• South Bristol: Swift PCN
• North Bristol: Northern Arc PCN
• Central Bristol: Bristol Inner City PCN

If you are registered with a GP outside of this area, you will not be invited for a lung health check as part of this programme. These areas have been chosen to make sure the Lung Health Checks are delivered to people who will benefit the most from them. We know that there will be people who live outside of these areas who may benefit from a Lung Health Check, and we hope to be able to offer the service to them within a few years.

In the meantime, if you have symptoms that you are worried about, for instance a persistent cough that you have had for 3 weeks or more, or feeling breathless, you should make an appointment with your GP.

For more information about lung conditions and what to do if you have symptoms, you're not sure about visit www.nhs.uk.