Fall in breast cancer cases detected by screening during first year of pandemic in Scotland

New figures show that breast cancer cases detected through routine screening fell by nearly 44 per cent during the first year of the Covid pandemic.

 

Information from Public Health Scotland snowed that 1,006 cases were detected by breast screening in 2020-2021, compared with 1,724 in the previous year.  Routine screening was paused in March 2020 for 50 to 70-year-olds, with no new invitations for screening being sent out during this period.

 

The report by Public Health Scotland covers routine screening appointments between April 2020 and March 2021, which showed a fall of 43.7 per cent in detected cases.

 

In the three years prior to the pandemic, around 259,040 women were invited each year to come forward for breast screening.  The number of invitations fell by over 100,000 to 151,977 in the year 2020-21.  Of those invited, 114,136 attended their appointments, a reduction of the annual average by 73,514.

 

A Scottish government spokesperson said “Update for routine breast screening continues to exceed the national target of 70% in women aged 50-70.

 

“We will continue to tackle inequalities in all cancer screening programmes through a £2m investment and ongoing work to improve our breast screening programme.

 

“As a result of the pandemic, self-referrals for women over 71 have been paused since March 2929 so that capacity can be prioritised for women between 50 and 70 for whom screening is recommended.

 

“We are working towards the re-introduction of the screening programme for self-referrals by September this year.”

 

Chadwick Lawrence’s specialist team of clinical negligence lawyers have years of experience in medical negligence claims, providing support and guidance after life-changing events.  Not only do we represent clients in Yorkshire, but because of our reputation we also represent clients nationally.

 

If you believe that you or a relative may have been injured as a result of clinical/medical negligence, please call for free legal advice from our medical negligence solicitors on the freephone number below.

 

Posted by Karen Motley, Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (tonymay@chadlaw.co.uk ), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.

 

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