Following COVID-19, a national restoration plan was implemented by NHS England in 2020/21 with targeted support to all breast screening services, to clear the backlog by the summer of 2023. In 2021/22 and 2022/23, activity was higher than in the previous 10 years with more women invited for breast screening compared to pre-pandemic years.<\/p>
NHS England\u2019s national uptake improvement plan aims to address the fact that despite this action, some women are still not coming forward for breast screening. The plan includes active follow up of women who have missed appointments or who have not engaged with screening, a review to establish reasons for non-attendance to identify and address any barriers, and a look at how different invitation methods may impact on uptake, for instance factors such as age, screening history, and deprivation.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1506", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Andrew Gwynne"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Gorton and Denton"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Andrew Gwynne"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2024-10-14", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2024-10-14T10:58:44.697Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "17"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Health and Social Care"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Health and Social Care"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2024-10-08", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Breast Cancer: Screening"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to (a) increase breast cancer screening rates to pre-covid-19 levels and (b) meet his Department's breast cancer screening targets.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/5032", "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Harrogate and Knaresborough"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Tom Gordon"} ], "uin" : "7895"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1731033", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department of Health and Social Care"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1731033/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
Following COVID-19, a national restoration plan was implemented by NHS England in 2020/21 with targeted support to all breast screening services to clear the backlog by the Summer of 2023. In 2021/22 and 2022/23, activity was higher than in the previous 10 years, with more women invited for breast screening compared to pre-pandemic years.<\/p>
The NHS England national uptake improvement plan aims to address the fact that despite this action, some women are still not coming forward for breast screening. The plan includes active follow ups for women who have missed appointments or who have not engaged with screening, a review to establish reasons for non-attendance to identify and address any barriers, and a look at how different invitation methods may impact on uptake, considering factors such as age, screening history, and deprivation.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1506", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Andrew Gwynne"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Gorton and Denton"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Andrew Gwynne"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2024-10-17", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2024-10-17T08:57:33.243Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "17"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Health and Social Care"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Health and Social Care"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2024-10-04", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Breast Cancer: Screening"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to help (a) return breast cancer screening rates to pre-covid-19 levels and (b) meet breast cancer screening targets.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/5032", "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Harrogate and Knaresborough"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Tom Gordon"} ], "uin" : "6682"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1727481", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department of Health and Social Care"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1727481/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The Department invested £10 million of funding into the NHS Breast Screening Programme in 2023, providing 28 new breast screening units and nearly 60 service upgrades, targeted at areas with the greatest challenges of uptake and coverage. This extra capacity aims to boost the uptake of screening in areas where attendance is low, tackle health disparities, and contribute towards higher early diagnosis rates, in line with the NHS Long Term Plan.<\/p>
In addition, the Digital Transformation of Screening (DToS) programme seeks to design, deliver, and implement a more sophisticated and future-proof digital system for all screening IT systems. Although we know the new system will offer us huge improvements, it is important that the programme is introduced without interrupting the delivery of breast screening services. A full replacement of the IT systems will only take place when the DToS programme can replicate what the current National Breast Screening System does.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/347", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Baroness Merron"} } , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Baroness Merron"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2024-09-10", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2024-09-10T16:02:21.273Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "17"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Health and Social Care"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Health and Social Care"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2024-09-04", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Breast Cancer: Screening"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to upgrade the ultrasound and x-ray equipment and software used in breast cancer screening units, to improve breast cancer detection; and what is their estimate of the proportion of units that have access to upgraded software and equipment.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4551", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Baroness Redfern"} } , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Baroness Redfern"} ], "uin" : "HL758"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1718766", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department of Health and Social Care"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1718766/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) currently recommends that all women aged 50 to 71 years old are invited for a breast screening every three years. The AgeX trial is looking at the impact of increasing or decreasing the screening age for breast screening, and the UK NSC will review its findings when they are available.<\/p>
The UK NSC can be alerted to any new published peer reviewed evidence which may suggest the case for a new screening programme, or changes to an existing one. Proposals can be submitted via the UK NSC\u2019s annual call in July 2024, which is available at the following link:<\/p>