Drop in chest x-ray clinic

The service, the first in Northern Ireland and the second in the UK, will run initially for a three-month trial until February.

It is for those aged over 50 with a cough or other chest symptom lasting more than three weeks.

Dr Gerry Millar MBE, Macmillan cancer and palliative care GP for the Southern Trust, said, “Lung cancer is the second most common cancer in the UK accounting for more than one in five cancer deaths. As most patients are diagnosed at such a late stage, sadly, compared to other cancers, survival outcomes for lung cancer are much lower.”

Anyone with worrying symptoms can speak to their GP or, if they meet the criteria, can drop in without a GP referral to the radiology departments at Portadown Health Centre, Banbridge Polyclinic or Armagh, South Tyrone and Daisy Hill hospitals, on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 9am - 4pm.

Staff will do a quick assessment and if necessary an x-ray.