Summary

This bulletin presents information about the NHS Breast Screening Programme in England and includes data about the call and re-call system, including population coverage and the outcomes of screening

Key facts

At 31st March 2009:

Among women aged 53-70:

• Over three quarters (76.5 per cent) had been screened at least once in the previous three years (up from 75.9 per cent last year).
• In 124 (121 last year) of the 152 Primary Care Organisations, the coverage was 70.0 per cent or higher.

2008-09:

• Just under 1.8 million women (aged 45 and over) were screened within the programme, an increase of 3.5 per cent over 2007-08. The last ten years have seen the programme grow by 43.9 per cent from 1.2 million in 1998-99.
• There were 14,166 cases of cancer diagnosed in women screened aged 45 and over, similar to the previous year (14,110) and nearly double the number compared to 1998-99 (7,561).
• Of all cancers diagnosed, 11,212 (79.1 per cent) were invasive and of these 5,850 (52.2 per cent) were 15mm or less which could not have been detected by hand.