40012 (2024). Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall to the Minister of Health

40012 (2024). Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall to the Minister of Health: What progress, if any, has been made in the last quarter (January to March 2024) to ‘Progress implementation of the National Bowel Screening Programme’ under Outcome 4: New Zealanders have better cancer survival, supportive care and end-of-life care, as part of the New Zealand Cancer Action Plan 2019 – 2029?

Hon Dr Shane Reti: I am advised that in the January to March 2024 quarter, the National Bowel Screening Programme continued to work with Health New Zealand districts to implement a new function in the National Bowel Screening Solution Register known as the Community Invitation Campaign Strategy. This enables alternatives to the standard mailout to encourage people to do a test, such as providers inviting participants at community events to take a test kit. It also allows for the design of engagement activities that meets the needs of local communities.