The National Bowel Screening Programme (NBSP) is a free programme to help detect bowel cancer.
It is being offered every two years to men and women aged 60 to 74 years who are eligible for publicly funded health care. Information on who is eligible for publicly funded health services is available on the Ministry of Health website or by phoning 0800 924 432.
If you are eligible to take part, you will be sent:
- an invitation letter
- a consent form
- a free bowel screening test kit, with instructions on how to use it.
The test can be done at home and is simple to do. Find out more at Doing the test.
You will be invited to take part in free bowel screening unless you tell us you don’t want to. You can opt out by calling freephone 0800 924 432. If you move house or change your postal address, please contact us to update your address so that your next invitation letter reaches you.
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Returning your bowel screening kit If you are in Waitematā or Counties Manukau, you can return your completed kit in the envelope provided in one of two ways. Either: 1. By posting it, or 2. Dropping it into a Labtest collection centre during opening hours. |
BELOW ARE SOME OF THE LABTESTS DROPOFF SITES WITHIN AUCKLAND
Roll-out timetable For Counties Manukau Health
Counties Manukau Health went live for NBSP in July 2018. Invitations and test kits are sent out from the National Coordination Centre (0800 924 432). Eligible participants will be sent test kits every two years.
- About 5% of participants who return a test kit will have a positive result and require a colonoscopy.
- About 7 in 10 people who have a colonoscopy as part of the NBSP will have polyps, which if removed may prevent cancer developing.
- About 7 in 100 people who have a colonoscopy as part of the NBSP will be found to have cancer and most will require treatment.