Over 200,000 women receive Breastcheck screens

More than 206,800 women have been screened as part of the National Cancer Screening Service's (NCSS) BreastCheck programme, with over 2,700 cases of breast cancer detected as a result.

The NCSS, which published its first annual report today, said it had reached agreement on the provision of staff for colposcopy services needed by women who have an abnormal cervical smear test.

The body estimates that about two to five per cent of women who are screened through CervicalCheck, the national cervical screening programme, will require access to such services. The programme is currently being offered to 1.1 million women aged between 25 and 60 years of age living in Ireland.

The NCSS plans to invest in colposcopy services at 15 locations nationwide, with the provision of adequate staffing levels to support the consultant-led service highlighted as a key factor.

"The NCSS has now reached agreement for the provision of colposcopy nurses, health care assistants, administration and support staff at each of the 15 locations," the report said.

NCSS chief executive Tony O'Brien said there had been "exceptional growth and development" since NCSS's establishment in 2007.

Close to 450,000 free mammograms have been provided to women by BreastCheck to date, and the OECD has ranked it fifth in the world for percentage of women screened in its 2007 Health at a Glance survey.

Screening in the south and west of the country began in December 2007, and is expected to take in more than 149,000 women.

The NCSS has also acted in advisory role on the introduction of screening programmes for other cancers, such as colorectal and hereditary cancers. The report said that population-based screening programmes for lung, prostate and bladder cancer are not yet being recommended for introduction.