Scottish Lib Dems launch petition for lung cancer screening programme

Scottish Liberal Democrats have today launched a petition which calls for the SNP government to roll out a full, nationwide screening programme for lung cancer, which experts say could hundreds of lives every year.

Three years ago, the UK National Screening Committee recommended that the whole of the UK introduce lung cancer screening to help prevent the disease or catch it early. The programme is targeted at those who are high risk: people aged between 55 and 74, and who smoke or who used to.

It is already being implemented in England, and Wales has now announced that it will also do a full rollout. Currently, there are no plans by the Scottish Government to do the same.

In June, Mr Cole-Hamilton challenged John Swinney during First Minister’s Questions on why Scots are missing out on this key screening programme.

The Liberal Democrat petition calls on the Scottish Government to commit to a full, nationwide rollout of the screening programme. You can sign the petition HERE.

Commenting on the petition, Alex Cole-Hamilton said:

“People with cancer deserve to know that they have the best possible chance of survival.

“In Scotland, more people die of lung cancer than any other form of disease. Survival rates aren’t much better than what they were in the 1970s.

“International studies show Scotland falling behind with cancer care, and the SNP’s failure to roll out this screening programme is another example of that.

“Scottish Liberal Democrats want to see the government ending their dithering and making a full rollout of this screening programme a top priority. We know there isn’t a moment to lose when it comes to getting cancer patients life-saving interventions.”