A screening programme to allow early detection of silicosis in kitchen stone workers at risk from killer dust could be considered by health chiefs in the coming months, The i Paper understands.

Doctors say early diagnosis of the deadly lung disease can significantly prolong survival and health outcomes in silicosis patients and that screening is crucial to finding cases sooner.

It comes amid growing pressure for the Government to act, with a leading occupational health expert urging new Prime Minister Andy Burnham to kickstart a targeted screening programme of workers cutting engineered stone worktops.

More than 50 cases of silicosis in stonemasons exposed to toxic dust when cutting engineered stone – also known as quartz – have been identified in the UK since the first cases emerged in mid-2023. Doctors warn the true figure is likely to be significantly more.

Many are in their 20s, 30 and 40s and work at firms failing to provide health surveillance as is legally required, with at least four dying and several, some as young as 23, referred for lung transplants.

Kevin Bampton, chief executive of the British Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS) told The i Paper: “This is a classic case of prevention being the key to saving the taxpayer a load of money. It’s not like normal screening where you are looking at a vast diffuse population.

“We can target the affected workers. It’s not like normal screening in the sense of a low probability of detecting disease.

“We can anticipate one in four amongst those exposed to lots of visible dust without much control. It’s not like it’s going to be years before we see the savings.

“I can’t think of a better example of where Andy Burnham could step in and demonstrate a prevention approach to save money for the NHS down the line and lives sooner.”

Dr Johanna Feary, a respiratory consultant at the Royal Brompton Hospital treating the UK’s first quartz silicosis patients, said there were “potentially several thousand” kitchen worktop fabricators in the UK at risk of silicosis.

“At the moment there is no screening programme and the onus is on individuals to come forward and speak to their doctors about how to get checked,” she said.

“We have set up a self-referral system for workers so that they can approach our clinical service directly. To benefit more people, this needs to be a funded, national service.”

Recommendations on population-wide and targeted health screening programmes are the responsibility of the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), which is part of the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and advises ministers and the NHS.

Regulating occupational health surveillance for work-related diseases such as silicosis falls to the HSE, overseen by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

But The i Paper understands a change is being considered on what the UK NSC would have responsibility for, leaving open the possibility a screening programme of quartz workers could fall under its remit.

Proposals to consider changes to UK NSC screening policy are now being submitted before a 30 September deadline. It’s understood plans are underway to submit an application for silicosis to be considered for screening.

However, any proposal must meet strict UK NSC criteria, such as whether a new screening programme is cost effective and that the benefits outweigh the harms.

Recent analysis by Bampton and Feary warned more than 1,000 UK cases from a workforce of around 7,000 could be diagnosed with silicosis in the coming years.

However, results from government-funded screening programmes in Australia – which were key to identifying the scale of the country’s silicosis epidemic, leading to a world first ban on the stone – indicated the figure affected could be as high as a quarter.

Early diagnosis of silicosis can stop the disease progressing in around half of cases, if the worker is removed from exposure to the dust, the study said.

This would also be likely to prevent more quartz workers being referred for lung transplants costing the NHS millions of pounds, the study found.

If all affected stonemasons were screened, and this averted one additional lung transplant each year, screenings would save more money than they cost, the study said.

But failing to do so would leave the NHS dealing with worse silicosis cases, with increased demand for lung transplants likely to impact survival rates for other respiratory disease sufferers, as well as incurring greater costs, it concluded.

In a recent meeting of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Respiratory Health, Dr Feary said: “Waiting until people become symptomatic to start screening them is not appropriate, because we’re going to miss cases, and the earlier you are diagnosed with silicosis, the better your health outcomes.

“We know if you present by the time you’ve got extensive disease and symptoms, regardless of whether you stop work or not, the likelihood is you’re going to progress, and you’re going to die.

“If you get people early and give them appropriate advice about exposures and about stopping work, we can hopefully stop that disease progressing and save people’s lives.”

She said screening programmes in New Zealand and Australia showed between 12 and 29 per cent of quartz stonemasons had silicosis.

“I’ve got absolutely no reason to think that the UK is any different,” she said.

An HSE spokesperson said: “A vital part of our inspections is making sure that firms are providing adequate health surveillance to their workers, so employers can spot the early signs of ill-health from exposure to silica and take action for all their employees.

“This is already a legal duty and where businesses fall short, we won’t hesitate to act.”