Northern Ireland expands bowel cancer screening

Northern Ireland’s bowel cancer screening programme will begin extending invitations to younger people from November, with eligibility gradually widening from ages 60–74 to 50–74 by 2031.

Health Minister Robbie Butler announced that 59-year-olds will be invited from 2 November 2026, followed by 58-year-olds from April 2027. Once fully implemented, the programme is expected to invite an additional 135,000 people each year. The phased approach is intended to allow screening, diagnostic and treatment services to manage the additional demand.

The programme uses the faecal immunochemical test (FIT), which checks stool samples for small amounts of blood that may indicate bowel cancer and require further investigation. All bowel screening samples in Northern Ireland are processed at a laboratory within the Northern Health and Social Care Trust.

Biomedical scientists provide the analysis and quality assurance that make this testing possible. Their expertise also supports the examination of tissue samples when further investigations are needed, helping clinical teams establish a diagnosis and determine the next steps in care.

For the IBMS, the expansion underlines the importance of planning laboratory capacity and workforce development alongside wider access to screening, so that more invitations translate into timely results, diagnosis and care.

Anyone experiencing possible bowel cancer symptoms should contact their GP rather than wait for a screening invitation.

Read the Department of Health announcement.

Further reading:

The impact of biomedical scientists on the bowel cancer patient pathway was examined in the IBMS-commissioned Oxera report, published in 2024.