CT scan

Hundreds of thousands of patients in England are waiting more than a month for radiology test results, a royal college has warned.

A scan that offers patients a less invasive test, sometimes called a ‘virtual colonoscopy’, is more effective than the traditional X-ray test of barium enema and should now be considered alongside the ‘gold standard’ of colonoscopy for investigating patients with a possible bowel cancer.

Repeated CT scans during childhood can increase the risk of developing brain tumours or leukaemia in later life.