Three more boroughs join our lung health checks programme

06 Mar 2023

Past and current smokers in Hounslow, Merton and Wandsworth are now being invited for a free NHS lung health check in a drive to improve earlier diagnosis of lung conditions, including cancer.

They are the latest boroughs to participate in the RM Partners roll out across west London. The project is already active in Hammersmith and Fulham, Hillingdon and Sutton.

Lung health checks take place in two stages. The first involves an initial phone assessment with a specially trained respiratory nurse. If the assessment finds the person to be at high risk, they are offered a low dose lung CT scan at either Royal Brompton Hospital or a mobile scanning unit based at a local, accessible site.

If patients need further assessment or treatment following their scan, they will be referred on to local services, such as West Middlesex University Hospital or St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Dr Anand Devaraj, consultant radiologist at Royal Brompton Hospital and clinical director for the west London lung health checks programme said: ‘The roll out of the project is an exciting step towards accelerating early diagnosis and improving outcomes for patients. We would encourage everyone who receives an invitation to take advantage of this opportunity.’

If all GP practices across the three boroughs sign up to participate over 66,000 patients would be eligible for a lung health check.

In April 2022, NHS England announced a nationwide roll out of the programme starting in 2023. We are currently developing plans to provide lung health checks in all 14 boroughs across west London.