§ Mr. CummingsTo ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to include women of 64 years of age in the breast screening programme; and if he will make a statement. [43116]
§ Mr. BoatengThe National Health Service breast screening programme invites all women aged 50–64 to be screened by mammography every three years. Breast screening for women aged 65 and over is available three-yearly on request, and this is widely publicised by the NHS breast screening programme and Age Concern.
We are funding three pilot studies to evaluate the effectiveness of extending the breast screening programme to invite routinely women aged 65–69. These are due to end in 1999/2000. In view of the importance of this issue, we are now planning to ask the National Screening Committee, which advises Ministers on extensions to or modifications of existing screening programmes, to consider this matter in July. The Committee will assess the case for routinely inviting older women in the light of the evidence emerging from the pilot studies, and the workforce and other implications of extending the programme nationally.