PARTINGTON Family Practice has become the first in Trafford to win the Gold Healthy Bowel Promoting Practice Award for actively promoting and increasing the uptake of bowel cancer screening with their patients.

The award, which is run by Greater Manchester (GM) Bowel Movement, was presented to the Partington team, based at Central Road by Cllr John Lamb, Executive Councillor for Health and Wellbeing and member of the governing body of NHS Trafford Clinical Commissioning Group last month.

The award recognises the practice's commitment and dedication, to ensuring that men and women aged between 60 and 74 years are fully informed of the screening programme and aware of the early signs and symptoms of bowel cancer.

Charlotte Conley, practice manager and primary care cancer champion said: "We are really honoured that we have received the Gold Healthy Bowel Promoting Practice Award. Our patients are always our priority and we are pleased that our initiatives to encourage early bowel cancer diagnosis have been recognised thanks to the hard work and extra training we provide to staff."

The Greater Manchester (GM) Bowel Movement team aims to raise awareness of the screening programme to ensure early diagnosis. Free training is offered to primary care staff including GPs, nurses and receptionists.

Carole Hill, a Health Improvement Practitioner from the Bowel Cancer Screening Programme said: “Partington Family Practice have worked hard to achieve the first Gold Healthy Bowel Promoting Practice Award. The team have been dedicated in ensuring their patients are fully informed about bowel screening, and are committed to promoting this valuable screening process.

“Providing training to the staff at the practice was so important as we know that GP endorsement has a significant impact in both raising awareness of the screening programme and also influencing patients to participate in the screening process.

It has been fantastic to award the team for all their efforts in encouraging patients."

Cllr Lamb, said: “The screening programme is vital in helping to diagnose bowel cancer at an early stage. Trafford’s Public Health team are working with the Bowel Cancer Screening Programme to improve cancer outcomes for our local residents. It’s so important that medical practices encourage their patients to take the screening – so well done to the staff at Partington Family Practice for all their hard work.”

Bowel cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the UK today, affecting around 1 in 19 women and 1 in 14 men. According to Cancer Research UK, there are now more than 41,900 new cases of bowel cancer being diagnosed every year; however, 98 per cent of people diagnosed early will survive.