Three cheers for 10 years

Spirits were high as the health board celebrated a decade of bowel screening in Ayrshire and Arran.

The public and staff joined together to commemorate NHS Ayrshire & Arran’s 10th annual bowel screening awareness event to mark Bowel Cancer Awareness Month.

The popular event was held on April 25 in University Hospital Crosshouse and topics discussed ranged from the importance of diet and exercise in cancer prevention, to what happens if you need to come into hospital.

Since screening started in Ayrshire and Arran it has led to a diagnosis of bowel cancer in more than 500 people and the removal of precancerous polyps in thousands more.

The event also marked the retirement of Bob Diament after 25 years as a surgeon at University Hospital Crosshouse and celebrated his involvement in bowel screening at both a local and national level.

Pictured are: Back row, left to right; Dr Calum Nicolson, consultant radiologist ; Eddie Leung, director of NHS Ayrshire & Arran’s Bowel Screening Service and consultant colorectal surgeon; Lee Burns, dietitian.

Front row, left to right: Fiona McTaggart, bowel screening audit facilitator; Chris Ray, consultant laparoscopic colorectal surgeon; Bob Diament consultant colorectal surgeon; Leigh Freeburn nurse endoscopist; and Heather Renwick, health improvement practitioner.