§ Mrs. BallardTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to extend routine breast screening to those over 65 years. [11609]
§ Mr. BoatengThree pilot schemes are currently under way in Northern and Yorkshire, Trent and South Thames regions to evaluate the effectiveness of extending the routine call-recall breast screening programme to women up to the age of 69. These schemes will run for three years to enable an assessment of the likely uptake, effect on work load, and effectiveness in terms of cancer detected. We will base any change to current policy on the evidence from the results of these studies, which should be available from the end of 2000.
In the interim, women aged 65 and over can continue to be screened every three years free of charge on request. This has been publicised in leaflets available in general practitioners' surgeries and clinics, as well as in breast screening centres, and emphasised more recently by a leaflet and poster campaign jointly organised by the charity Age Concern and the breast screening programme.