What action is being taken to improve access to breast cancer screening for older women?
Women in Wales are automatically invited for breast screening between the ages of 50 and 70 years. This is in line with the latest available evidence and the UK National Screening Committee’s recommendation on population screening for breast cancer. Screening is carried out at three regional centres and on a fleet of ten mobile mammography units, which visit over 100 locations in Wales on a three yearly cycle. All centres and mobile units are Disability Discrimination Act compliant to enable ease of access.
In order for a programme to be offered on a population basis there needs to be evidence that the good done outweighs the harm. An independent review into the benefits and harms of breast screening has been published and is available on the Cancer Research UK website: http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-us/we-develop-policy/our-policy-on-early-diagnosis/our-policy-on-breast-cancer-screening
The figures you have requested are not held centrally by Welsh Government but would be available on request through Breast Test Wales: http://www.breasttestwales.wales.nhs.uk/contact-us