Key Points

• The proportion of people with a positive screening test had risen sharply at the time of the test change in 2015. It has since been declining steadily (from 4.5% in 2016–2017 to 3.6% in 2020–2021);

• the proportion of people who underwent a colonoscopy following a positive test has decreased compared to previous periods and stood at 82.6% in 2020–2021, which is below the European benchmark considered “acceptable” of 85%. Twelve out of 17 regions had a proportion below this threshold in 2020–2021;

• the median time to colonoscopy following a positive test continues to increase: from 62 days in 2013–2014 to 84 days in 2020–2021;

• the cancer detection rate is 1.8 per 1,000 people screened (2.3‰ among men and 1.3‰ among women). It has been steadily declining since the change in testing (3.0‰ in 2016–2017).