Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill has officially launched new BowelScreen endoscopy services in Cork University Hospital.
The unit is the 16th across Ireland delivering colonoscopy procedures to BowelScreen participants who need further tests following their free bowel cancer screening test. Nationally, BowelScreen carries out approximately 5,000 colonoscopies per year.
About BowelScreen
- Bowel screening is for everyone aged 58 to 70
- It aims to reduce deaths from bowel cancer in two ways – by finding small growths (known as adenomas or polyps) which are removed at colonoscopy, and by detecting bowel cancers at an early stage, where there are no symptoms
- If bowel cancer is found early, it is generally easier to treat and there’s a better chance of recovery
- Around 2,500 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer in Ireland every year and 6%* of these are detected following bowel screening
Minister Carroll MacNeill said,“I was delighted to meet staff, management and patients at the unit delivering BowelScreen endoscopy services in Cork University Hospital. My visit comes just weeks after the announcement that BowelScreen is now inviting 58-year-olds to take part in bowel screening, which means an additional 60,000 people invited for screening across the country. These are important steps as the HSE works to increase capacity to offer screening to everyone aged 55 to 74.
“Bowel screening makes an important contribution to reducing deaths from cancer and cancer diagnosis. Every colonoscopy is a chance to prevent cancer from developing through the removal of small growths, or to find a cancer while it is at an early stage.
“I’d encourage everyone aged 58 to 70 to take part in the free screening programme. It’s an effective, simple way to reduce your risk of bowel cancer.”
Acting Chief Executive Officer, Cork University Hospital, Deirdre O’Keeffe said, “Cork University Hospital has been providing histopathology, cancer surgery, and CT colonography (CTC) services for BowelScreen patients in the Cork and Kerry region since 2012. This new service means that CUH now provides the full range of BowelScreen clinical services. It’s a priority of ours under Sláintecare to offer people testing and treatment near to where they live. For many patients this development will mean continuity of care, as they will have testing, diagnosis and treatment all under one roof in CUH.”
BowelScreen Clinical Director Professor Pádraic Mac Mathuna said, “We are pleased to welcome CUH as the 16th endoscopy unit providing BowelScreen services. People from Cork and surrounding counties will now be invited to one of two locations – Cork University Hospital or Mercy University Hospital, Cork, for these vital endoscopy appointments.
“Additional endoscopy capacity such as that offered by CUH is a crucial step on the journey to eventually extend BowelScreen to include everyone aged 55 to 74.
“Our primary goal in BowelScreen is to reduce mortality from bowel cancer. We prevent cancers from developing by finding and removing small growths, called adenomas, which we often find during colonoscopies. These can turn into cancer if left untreated. Every year around 3,000 people have these growths removed because they did our BowelScreen test. These are all potential cancers prevented.”
Bowel cancer is the second most common of all cancers in men and the third most common of all cancers in women in Ireland.
BowelScreen was allocated €3.8 million for 2025/2026 in the Budget, €1.9 million of which was received in 2025; part of this was used to fund the BowelScreen development of CUH.
