People in Bolton who are current or former smokers are being offered an ‘MOT for their lungs’ this September.
The NHS will be offering free lung health checks which can help find lung cancer at an early stage when it is much more treatable to help save lives.
The quick checks – which will take place on board a mobile clinic parked in a community location – are for people who smoke or who have previously smoked cigarettes or shisha and who are aged 55-74 years.
The checks are currently available for eligible people registered with the following groups of GP practices (in the Bolton Primary Care Network):
Lever Chambers 2 – BL3 6RN
Deane Medical Centre – BL3 5AH
Bradford Street Surgery – BL2 1HT
Beehive Surgery – BL3 2JR
Orient House Medical Centre – BL3 5QE
Dr S Naseef – BL3 5HP
Great Lever One – BL3 6RN
Al Fal Medical Group – BL3 5HP
Deane Clinic 1 – BL3 4LU
3d Medical Centre – BL3 5DP
Bolton General Practice- BL1 4TH
Bolton Medical Centre – BL3 6PY
Olive Family Practice – BL3 5HP
Eligible people will be invited by post or via text message when the lung health checks are in their area.
Lung health checks have already been offered to eligible people registered with a GP in some other parts of Bolton including Rumworth, Farnworth and Kearsley, HWL, Breightmet and Little Lever and the Chorley Roads areas. The checks are being rolled out across Greater Manchester based on where they are needed most in a drive to help improve earlier diagnosis of lung cancer. They are due to come to more areas of Bolton and Greater Manchester in the future.
Dr Tarek Bakht, Clinical Lead for Cancer NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care Board in Bolton, said: “Lung Health Checks help the NHS to spot any lung cancer symptoms earlier, when it is much more treatable.
“If you’re registered with a doctor mentioned on the list from the Bolton area, are a smoker or used to smoke either shisha or cigarettes, you’ll be sent an invite through the post or via text message.
“Please do come along for your appointment. You’ll have a chat with a nurse and fill out a questionnaire to look at your risk. About half of the people who visit may also need a low-dose scan which we will also do on the truck.
“It will most likely offer you some reassurance. But it could save your life!”
Lung Cancer Screening is jointly organised by the Greater Manchester Cancer Alliance and Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust.
The Lung Health Checks in Horwich run from 8am until 8pm Monday to Saturday starting later this summer 2025. If you can’t make your initial appointment slot you can just call the booking line to rearrange.
So far more than 900 patients have been diagnosed with lung cancer as a result of the Lung Health Checks in Greater Manchester, however, almost 80% of these patients were diagnosed at stage 1 or 2 meaning they were more likely to be eligible for curative treatment.
People diagnosed with lung cancer at the earliest stage are nearly 20 times more likely to survive for five years than those whose cancer is caught late.
For more information about Lung Cancer Screening please visit www.mft.nhs.uk/lunghealthcheck
If you have concerning symptoms you should speak to your GP who will be able to refer you for tests if needed. You can read about symptoms of lung cancer here: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/lung-cancer/symptoms
