Lung Health Check

If you are aged between 55 and 74 and have ever smoked, you may be offered an NHS lung health check.

Lung health checks are available in Westminster for people aged between 55 and 74 who smoke or used to smoke any tobacco product, including cigarettes, pipes, cigars, roll ups, hookahs or shishas. There are two main stages to a lung health check. The first involves a simple and quick telephone assessment with an NHS patient care advisor. They will ask you a series of questions about your smoking history, lifestyle and current health and wellbeing specially designed to assess your risk or developing lung cancer. This should take around 15 minutes. Depending on the results, you may then be offered an in-person appointment for a low dose CT scan, which produces a detailed image of your lungs.

There are often no signs or symptoms of lung cancer at an early stage. Lung health checks can help save lives by identifying lung cancer even before there are any symptoms, when treatment can be simpler and more successful. Lung health checks can also help diagnose other respiratory issues, which again can be treated more successfully at an earlier stage. If you are invited to a lung health check, even if you feel well, it is important to take the offer up.

If you are aged 55-74, live in Westminster, and have ever smoked, you should receive a letter offering you a telephone assessment, which should take around 15 minutes. The NHS patient care advisor will call you within 14 days to complete your assessment over the telephone.

Please let the NHS Lung Health Check team know if you have questions or need support for your telephone assessment. You can call the NHS Lung Health Check Booking Office on 0203 835 1600. The team can then put arrangements in place to make sure the appointment is suitable and comfortable for you. If you feel you are eligible for a lung health check but have not received an invitation, please contact the NHS Health Check Booking Office on 0203 835 1600.

If you are invited to have a CT scan of your check, this will be arranged at a time that is convenient for you. The team will talk to you through the scan and answer any questions you may have about it.

The CT scan is a quick and painless way to see if there are any changes in your lungs. The appointment lasts around 30 minutes, and it is a good idea to wear loose, comfortable clothing. Metal, such as necklaces, may need to be removed for the scan.

During the scan, you will lay flat on your back while your chest is scanned, which takes about 5 minutes. You will be able to go about your normal routine before and after the scan.

If you are invited for a scan, this will take place at a scanning unit in a convenient community location. The lung health check team will provide more details at your telephone assessment and confirm the information in a letter and by text.

If you have any questions, would like general information, or would like to opt out of the lung health check programme, please email westlondon.lunghealthcheck@nhs.net