25/07/2025
A mobile lung cancer screening bus will be returning to Wirral from the beginning of August. Current or ex smokers in a certain age group may be invited for a scan at this pioneering health service, which is already saving lives.
Mike Fortune is a Social Action Lead at One Wirral CIC, a service aiming to improve the borough’s health and wellbeing. Mike’s role is to drive awareness around early cancer diagnosis and detection.
We spoke to Mike, who has been promoting the service at roadshows across Wirral, to learn more about the Lung Cancer Screening Programme.
Mike said: “Lung cancer can be hard to detect in the early stages, with symptoms often appearing later on. This programme is turning that round. Through the screening, the team are detecting people at stage 1 and 2 which has a high survival rate compared to stage 3 and 4.”
Provided by Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital (LHCH) the service invites individuals who have ever smoked for free lung health checks to help them improve their lung health and diagnose lung conditions early.
Those who are registered with their GP as a current or ex smoker will be invited to a telephone consultation with the lung cancer team who assess each individual’s background. After that, you could potentially be invited to a scan at mobile unit.
Mike said: “The scanner is painless - it’s quick and delivers a low level radiation scan from the neck to the bottom of the chest taking no more than a couple of minutes to do and it is non-invasive.”
The programme is targeting residents aged 55-74 who have a history of smoking, even if they haven’t smoked a lot or it was a long time ago. It has already been successful in detecting cancer early for hundreds of people.
In the past four years Lung Cancer Screening (formerly known as Targeted Lung Health Checks) has found 660 lung cancers across Cheshire and Merseyside - including 33 people who live in Wirral. More than 500 of those were detected at an early stage, when treatment is easier and can be more successful.
Mike, who has lost two much-loved family members to lung cancer in the past, would encourage anybody who is eligible, to take up the offer.
Mike said: “I understand if people think they don’t need it. But prevention and early diagnosis is everything. So, let’s just make sure. If you’re invited into the programme, take advantage of it.”
The lung cancer screening mobile unit will be returning to various locations in Wirral from 4 August 2025 until February 2026.
If you’re aged 55-74 and are a current or ex-smoker, you should be contacted automatically.
If you think you could be eligible, contact your GP practice and make sure your smoking status is up to date, otherwise you will not be invited.
For more information about the programme, see the first comment ⤵️
