West Yorkshire & Harrogate Cancer Alliance inclusive screening videos
In 2017 I was diagnosed with bowel cancer. I was a complicated case, for various reasons, but one of my advantages was being able to talk with the medical personnel and being able to understand most of what they were saying to me.
Not everyone is able to communicate so readily – English may not be their first language or they may have learning difficulties. So, then what?
We, at the Bowel Cancer Intelligence UK Patient-Public Group, are a group of independent patient advocates who are passionate about improving outcomes for bowel cancer patients across the UK. One of the ways that outcomes can be improved is by increasing the number of people participating in the screening programme.
West Yorkshire and Harrogate Cancer Alliance, have produced a first of its kind series of inclusive videos, outlining the simple process of attending cancer screenings from invitation through to results.
There are three national cancer screening programmes in England: breast, bowel and cervical. There is a wide variation in screening uptake and coverage between the different regions in England and across Yorkshire and the Humber.
For example we know that people living with physical and or learning disabilities, those living in deprived communities, people with mental health issues and ethnic minorities have lower uptake rates for screening.
The videos are available in a number of languages, including British Sign Language.
As a group, we are keen to help share this information.
This takes you to short versions of the video on the Cancer Alliance website.
https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSEYtPE8N908S5-oGEk4U_DW7wrgSabb8
This takes you to full length versions on You Tube .