PTU-097 Leicester city CCG experience: do direct phone calls to non-responders improve BCSP uptake?

IntroductionBowel Cancer Screening Programme (BCSP) has shown to be associated with a substantial stage shift in colorectal cancer diagnosis. In 2015/16, the overall percentage uptake for gFOBt bowel screening nationally was 56.4%. There was a lower uptake across Leicester City CCG of 45.8%. The aim of this project was to assess if direct phone calls to non-responders towards gFOBt bowel screening improve BCSP uptake locally. MethodsWe identified individuals from 8 local GP surgeries who had not returned their BCSP gFOBt kit between September and October 2016. These individuals were all phoned by a nurse specialist. During the telephone call encounter, we discussed the importance of bowel cancer screening, checked if each subject had received the 1st gFOBt kit, identified if there was any language barrier, offered further information (written/picture booklets) and enquired if subjects would like another kit sent out again.ResultsA total of 412 (202 females, 210 males) non-responders were identified. The mean and median age of the subjects was 60 years and 64 years respectively. A total of 580 phone calls were made with an average of 8.2 minutes per phone call. 170 (41.2%) subjects were not contactable.Of the ones we managed to contact, 225 (54.6%) subjects remembered receiving their 1st gFOBt kit but had chosen not to respond. 187 (45.4%) subjects claimed never to have received a kit. Reasons include: incorrect contact details, being out of the country or a significant language barrier. In total, 58 (14%) subjects requested a repeat kit but only 28 (6.79%) subjects actually completed screening after receiving a direct phone call.ConclusionOur experience demonstrated that direct phone calls to non-responders are time consuming and not an effective intervention to increase BCSP uptake. This intervention is not recommended, and alternate methods should be advocated such as GP endorsed invitations or enhanced reminder letters.ReferencesBenton SC, Butler P, Allen K, et al. GP participation in increasing uptake in a national bowel cancer screening programme: the PEARL project. Br J Cancer. 2017 Jun 6;116 (12):155–Wardle J, von Wagner C, Kralj-Hans I, et al. Effects of evidence-based strategies to reduce the socioeconomic gradient of uptake in the English NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme (ASCEND): four cluster- randomised controlled trials. Lancet 2016; 387: 751–9