Longer waiting times for colonoscopies

National bowel cancer screening rates have lingered just above 40% since 2015 and colonoscopy wait times are exceeding the recommended 30 days, the latest National National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP) Report reveals.

Bowel cancer is Australia’s second deadliest cancer, claiming more than 5,300 lives each year. More than 15,600 Australians are diagnosed with bowel cancer each year.

The latest national screening participation rate (2020-21) is nearly 41%, the same as it was in 2015-16, despite almost $20 million invested by the Australian Government since 2019 to raise awareness of the disease and the NBCSP. South Australia has the equal-highest rate at 44.4%.

Meanwhile, the wait time between a positive screening result and a subsequent colonoscopy has increased in every state and territory, with participants waiting between 119 days in some parts of Western Australia and 235 days in some areas of Tasmania. On this measure, South Australia is in the mid-range at 154 days.

Only 11,990 participants (15.6%) were recorded as receiving colonoscopies within the recommended 30-day time frame after a positive screening result.

Medical guidelines acknowledge that wait times exceeding 120 days between the first healthcare presentation (for symptoms or a positive screening result) and colonoscopy are associated with poorer clinical outcomes. The guidelines also state that a colonoscopy should be performed as quickly as possible after a positive screening result to minimise the risk of psychological harm.

Bowel Cancer Australia CEO Julien Wiggins said questions must be asked about why so few participants are receiving colonoscopies within the clinically recommended time frame.

According to the report, 2.49 million of the 6.1 million people aged 50-74 invited to participate in the NBCSP in 2020-21 returned their tests for screening. Of those who participated, 76,880 received positive results with blood detected in their samples.

One in 10 new bowel cancer cases now occur in people under the age of 50, who are currently ineligible to participate in the NBCSP.

Time between positive screen and diagnostic assessment, people aged 50-74, by state and territory, 2021 (days)

Eastern Suburbs Vr Gp

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