Thousands of women are being urged to take up NHS breast screening (mammography) appointments as new figures revealed recently by NHS England showed nearly four in 10 did not take up the potentially lifesaving offer.
Last year (2021-22) 1.97 million women aged 50 to 70 (62.3%) attended screening appointments (within six months of invitation) out of the 3.17 million invited to book a check-up – a slight increase on the previous year (61.8%).
Though the total number of women aged 50 to 70 screened in the year was 2.06 million, which is the highest volume ever screened in a single year – and includes those not responding directly to an invite.
The latest NHS Breast Screening Programme in England report (2021-22) also found that uptake was highest in the South East at 67.7% and lowest in London at 50.4%.
The cause of this poor uptake is unclear. It may be because it is a rather clunky system, not co-ordinated by your GP.
How does breast cancer screening work?
This is how it works. The system is a national one coordinated by your near hospital breast cancer unit. The programme provides free breast screening every three years for all women aged 50 and over. Because the programme is a rolling one which invites women from GP practices in turn, not every woman receives an invitation as soon as she is 50 (until 71) years. But she will receive her first invitation before her 53rd birthday.
So what are the pros and cons?
Pros
- National organisation means that high national standards can be set
- GPs do not have to do chasing for people that do not engage with the system
- GPs would expect to do paid to co-ordinate the system.
Cons
- That it is done by a rolling system of one GP practice then the next, is an obvious disadvantage as some women will be unlucky and have potential cancers not picked for 3 years compared to other women
- It is easy for women moving around the UK, or not registered with a GP, to be missed
- Private GPs may not prioritise screening.
So, what is the answer?
A local system co-ordinated by your GP that organised your first mammography at age 50 years would have many advantages.
