Jackie Baillie has urged the Scottish Government to look closely at a pilot programme in Wales aimed at monitoring survivors of bowel cancer as wait times for important diagnostic tests in the health board covering her constituency were found to be the worst in Scotland.

Earlier this year, people who have recovered from bowel cancer in Swansea became the first in the UK to be offered a blood test to check the disease hadn’t returned, rather than having a colonoscopy.

Meanwhile, it emerged that three quarters of patients in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde waited more than eight weeks to be referred for a colonoscopy.

The latest figures available for the bowel screening programme in Scotland showed that, across the largest health board area in the country, a staggering 77 percent of people had to wait more than eight weeks between being referred for screening and a colonoscopy taking place.

This was the worst rate across all health boards in Scotland and far higher than the Scottish average of 34.4 percent.

A colonoscopy looks at the entire inside of the bowel helping to find the cause of bowel symptoms. It will look for early signs of bowel cancer and be used to monitor a patient after treatment for bowel cancer.

If the Scottish Government were to adopt the same approach as Labour-run Wales, it would free up clinicians to carry out colonoscopies on patients suspected of having bowel cancer and enable treatment to begin quicker than it currently does.

In the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde health board area, which includes Ms Baillie’s Dumbarton constituency just 7.6 percent of patients across Greater Glasgow and Clyde had their colonoscopy carried out within four weeks of referral, according to the stats released in February.

Ms Baillie asked the Scottish Government whether it had any plans to mirror the model in Wales but, in their response, they made no commitment to implement it.

Jackie Baillie said: “I am delighted that Labour-run Wales are leading the way through this pioneering trial which could result in more people surviving bowel cancer.

“Colonoscopy waits across the health board which covers my constituency are far too high and action needs to be taken before this costs lives. These screenings are more essential than ever in the aftermath of the pandemic – but waiting times are soaring and health inequalities are growing.

“I urge the SNP Government in Scotland to look at the model closely which has been implemented in Wales. The results of this pilot could be pivotal in the future screening and treatment of bowel cancer and the Scottish Government needs to be on top of this.”