Mobile clinic offering free lung health checks to current and former smokers rolls into Wigan

A scanner and clinic, housed in a mobile unit, recently arrived at Robin Park Leisure Centre and Arena.

It will operate six days a week – Monday to Saturday – from 8am to 8pm to ensure that appointments are accessible.

GP letters will be sent to smokers and former smokers aged 55 to 74 based at surgeries in the central Wigan area.

Dr Liam Hosie, a Wigan borough GP, said: “If you’re registered with a doctor in central Wigan and fit into this category, you’ll be sent an invite through the post.

“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.

“Our lung health checks help the NHS to spot any lung cancer symptoms earlier, when it is much more treatable.”

Patients deemed to be at high risk will be offered a low-dose computed tomography (CT) scan of their lungs for further investigation on the same day.

More than 3,100 people visited the clinic when it was stationed in Hindley between November and January, with many more people accessing the service when it moved to Leigh in January.

Sue Edwards, 71, from Leigh, said: “I had my scan in Leigh just before 6.30pm. I was met by the four ladies who all seemed really nice.

“One lady then took me into a room and we went over some questions about my smoking history and whether any of my relatives had been affected by lung cancer. I had stopped smoking in 2008 and had a couple of relatives who had been affected by lung cancer.

“They then offered me a CT scan onboard the truck which I did. It’s only a small tube and you don’t go all the way inside, just as far as your neck. It only took a few minutes. There’s nothing to it.

“Afterwards I got a letter to tell me they’d found a nodule in my lung so I’ll be going back to the truck for another scan in three months time to keep an eye on it. I’m glad I went for the scan as otherwise I wouldn’t have known. It’s better to know than not know as now they can keep an eye on me. We all put lots into our life so we should take something back when we are offered.”

The checks are the latest phase of the Greater Manchester Targeted Lung Health Check Programme – a drive to help improve earlier diagnosis of lung cancer and save more lives.

The programme is jointly organised by the Greater Manchester Cancer Alliance and Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust.

So far more than 500 patients in Greater Manchester have been diagnosed with lung cancer as a result of the lung health checks.

Almost 80 per cent of these patients were diagnosed at stages one or two, so were more likely to be eligible for curative treatment.

The GP practices where patients are eligible: are Dicconson Group practice, Longshoot, Sullivan Way, Marsh Green, Pemberton, Newtown, Dr Seabrook, Mesnes View Surgery and Bradshaw Street. Other practices in the Wigan area will be targeted at a later date.