22 November 2024
Women, who are currently not registered for breast screening, will shortly be automatically
invited for the potentially lifesaving examination, thanks to enhancements being made to the
service.
A project by Health and Community Services to ensure all eligible women are automatically
called up for breast screening will get underway in 2025.
The project is only possible thanks to a new £255,000 mammography machine paid for by The
John Clive Le Seelleur Trust, and funding from the charity Jersey Cancer Relief for additional
members of staff.
Currently, women need to register for breast screening when they turn 50. However, in 2025,
women will be automatically invited for breast screening during their fiftieth year. They will be
able to opt-out if they wish.
Over the next two years, women who are already eligible for screening but who have not
registered for the service will be contacted and invited for a mammogram. It means that from
2027 all eligible women will be automatically called up rather than having to inform HCS that
they would like to be screened.
In order to provide this enhanced service, a second mammography machine was required in
Jersey.
The machine, at the Enid Quenault Health and Wellbeing Centre, will be used for routine
screenings. It will also offer resilience if the mammography machine at the General Hospital,
which is used for symptomatic patients, requires repair.
Jersey Cancer Relief is also supporting the move to an extended service by funding the staffing
on the new Enid Quenault unit for three years – equating to around £530,000. This funding will
pay for a full-time administrator, a mammographer as well as the training of an associate
practitioner in mammography. This is the first time this training has been offered in Jersey. The
funding will also pay for a locum while the associate practitioner undergoes training.
Meanwhile, a new mammography machine to replace the current machine at the General
Hospital, funded by HCS, is due to be installed in the first quarter of next year.
Assistant Minister for Health and Social Services, Deputy Andy Howell, said: “I’m delighted to
announce changes to our breast screening programme which will both improve a woman’s
access to care and their experience as a patient.
“I would like to thank Jersey Cancer Relief and The John Clive Le Seelleur Trust for their
incredible support which means that we can ensure that all women are invited for breast
screening when they become eligible. Early detection is vital in saving lives.”
Anne Pryke, Chair of Jersey Cancer Relief, said: “We are proud to support this new initiative and
pave the way for all eligible women in Jersey to access breast cancer screening as part of an
opt-out rather than opt-in service. Screening and prevention align with our charity constitution
and over the years we have worked closely with the screening team on projects like these."
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