Extra capacity in place for catch-up NHS breast screening sessions
Extra capacity for women in Shropshire, aged between 70 and 79, is being put in place to have catch-up breast screening sessions after a national NHS IT problem.
The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) is putting in place extra capacity for women in Shropshire, aged between 70 and 79, to have catch-up breast screening sessions after a national NHS IT problem.
The catch-up sessions are for women who have been identified as not receiving their invitation from the NHS breast screening programme, due to the national IT problem with the breast screening invitation system. They will be in addition to the normal NHS breast screening sessions.
Women affected by the national IT error will be sent letters offering them the opportunity for a catch-up session, with appointments due to start in mid-May.
Staff at SaTH, which runs the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital (RSH) and Telford’s Princess Royal Hospital (PRH), have been volunteering to work extra hours to ensure that all women who want appointments can be seen within six months.
Nigel Lee, Chief Operating Officer at SaTH, said: “We are putting in place additional screening capacity so that those women who did not receive their invitations due to the national NHS IT problem, can have a catch-up breast screening session by the end of October. These appointments will be in addition to our current sessions, so that the normal screening programme is not impacted.
“In order to do this our staff are volunteering to work extra hours, and so I would like to thank them for their commitment towards helping us to achieve this, ensuring that all those women who want a catch up breast screening appointment can be seen as quickly as possible.”
Women can seek advice by calling the national helpline on 0800 169 2692.
Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, told the House of Commons, that computer modelling suggested between 135 and 270 women may have had their lives shortened by the IT error.
For more on this National News story see the BBC article: Breast screening error 'shortened up to 270 lives' - Hunt
