Karen qualified as a registered nurse in 1995 and has worked mainly in gastroenterology/endoscopy. In 2005 she gained an MSc in Managing quality in Healthcare and took on a more senior management role within endoscopy. In 2013 she was appointed Programme Manager/Matron for the Bowel cancer screening team in Leicester. In 2016 she was seconded to the national bowel cancer screening team for 2 days per week. She was appointed national programme manager in 2018.
PHE Screening has published new information and resources to support people with learning disabilities with bowel cancer screening. There is an updated easy guide to having a colonoscopy, a new easy guide to having a CTC scan and new guidance.
Karen Emery-Downing reflects on her first few months as national programme manager of the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme.
Nurse endoscopists already undertake as much of 20% of the workload in an endoscopy unit. NHS Improving Quality initiatives have estimated clinical endoscopists could carry out up to 40% of low risk, high volume endoscopic procedures.