HC Deb 01 November 1988 vol 139 cc592-3W
39. Mrs. Peacock

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the progress of the breast cancer screening programme.

Mrs. Currie

By the spring of this year each regional health authority in England had established at least one centre for breast cancer screening. The list is as follows:

Region Centre
Northern Gateshead
Yorkshire Huddersfield
East Anglian King's Lynn
Trent Nottingham
North West Thames Barnet
North East Thames Epping
South East Thames Camberwell, King's College Hospital
South West Thames Guildford
Wessex Southampton
Oxford Aylesbury
South Western Cornwall (Truro)
West Midlands Stoke-on-Trent

Region Centre
Mersey Liverpool
North Western Manchester, Bolton, Wigan

Guildford, King's College, Manchester and Nottingham have also been designated as training centres for staff in England.

Health authorities are currently developing their plans for the extension of the breast screening service to cover all eligible women by 1990 and have already opened additional centres in:

Region Centre
North East Thames Elizabeth Garratt Anderson Hospital
Wessex Isle of Wight

The service will provide routine screening for women aged 50—64 and for older women on request. We are very pleased with the commitment which health authorities and their staff are showing towards this programme which will make a significant contribution to the health of the women of this country. I expect to make a further announcement soon about the next group of centres planned for opening in 1989 and 1990.

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