A Glasgow drama club recently performed a show to highlight the importance of bowel cancer screening.
The Mainstay Drama Club, made up of adults with learning disabilities from greater Glasgow, took to the stage to encourage people to take part in the at-home bowel cancer screening test.
They performed at an event hosted by the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Inequalities Sensitive Practice Project.
The show included a parody of Elvis's "Ain't Nothin' but a Hound Dog" transformed into "Ain't Nothin' but a Bowel Test", a Hokey Pokey adaptation, and a Bollywood twist.
The club aimed to highlight the fears and challenges that someone with a learning disability might face with bowel cancer screening.
Hosted at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital Teaching and Learning Centre, the performance helped specialist service staff better understand how to discuss screening with people who have learning disabilities.
Anyone unsure if they or their loved one is due their bowel screening test, contact the national bowel screening centre at 0800 0121833 or order a replacement kit to be delivered to their home at https://tinyurl.com/f3ascyzj.
Clare Smith, development lead at NHSGGC Inequalities Sensitive Practice, said: "I’m so proud of what the group brought to life for healthcare professionals today and I thank them for their fantastic performance.
"The role of the project is to remove barriers in health screening for individuals with learning disabilities.
"The message from the drama group was clear – these conversations with people who have learning disabilities matter."
The bowel cancer screening programme invites all men and women between the ages of 50 to 74 to participate in screening once every two years.
Between April 2021 and March 2023, 60.5 per cent of those invited returned the screening test.
However, among those registered with a learning disability, the uptake of screening was lower at 44.5 per cent.
Scotland for both men and women in 2021.
Bowel cancer was the third most common cancer inMs Smith said: “The bowel screening test isn’t invasive and, while the thought of it seems a little embarrassing, it can be done in comfort at home.
“This, however, can be incredibly daunting to someone with learning disabilities, and knowing how to approach the conversation is important.”
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