Screening is the process of identifying people who appear healthy but may be at increased risk of a disease or condition. There are a number of national screening programmes in Scotland. These are designed to detect early signs of a disease or condition and provide referral and treatment where necessary.

For more information, please visit NHS Health Scotland.

Types of screening

If you’re invited to be screened, you’ll be tested for a particular condition — for example a bowel screen only looks for signs of bowel cancer.

In Scotland, screening is offered for:

• abdominal aortic aneurysms
• bowel cancer
  • how to take your bowel screening sample
• breast cancer
• cervical cancer
• diabetic retinopathy

Pregnancy and newborn screening are also offered to check the health of your baby.