Breast Cancer Screening
The Health Secretary announced today that up to 270 women in England may have died because they did not receive invitations to a final routine breast cancer screening. Speaking in the Commons, he said 450,000 women aged 68-71 years had failed to get invitations since 2009. The story can be read in full here.
Healthwatch England and local Healthwatch across the country have received very few enquiries about breast screening; this could be because people haven’t been called for screening before, therefore aren’t aware they should be going and so isn’t something they raise concerns with us about.
We are keen to make sure that the NHS identifies those affected and moves swiftly to get people screened. We would urge anyone who wants to share concerns or experiences of screening, good and bad, to get in touch.
If you have any concerns or questions please call the helpline: 0800 169 2692
More information on breast screening can be found at NHS Choices.
