Breast Cancer: Screening

Mr. Dismore
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress the NHS is making on the provision of breast screening for women in Hendon constituency; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen
The information requested is not held centrally. It is for local national health service organisations to plan, develop and improve services for local people.

Nationally, breast screening is provided every three years for all women in England aged 50 and over. Currently, women aged between 50 to 70 years are invited routinely and women over the age of 70 can request free three-yearly screening.

In September 2007, the Department announced proposals to extend the age range of women eligible for routine breast screening to women between the ages of 47 and 73 years by 2012. As a result, around 400,000 more women will be screened each year.

“The Cancer Reform Strategy”, published in 2007 (a copy of which has already been placed in the Library), is supporting the roll out of digital mammography for breast screening, an x-ray examination of the breasts, which can show breast cancers at an early stage. For the roll out approximately £120 million has been allocated to NHS trusts as part of the wider capital funding. They must ensure that all breast screening units have at least one full-field digital mammography set by 2010.