Services

Breast screening

The Breast Screening Unit, part of the NHS Breast Screening Programme, provides breast screening for women registered with a GP in the areas covered by Croydon, Kingston, Richmond, Sutton and Merton and Wandsworth Primary Care Trusts (PCTs). The aim is to detect cancer at an early stage when treatment can be more effective. The Breast Screening Unit carries out mammograms to detect changes which may indicate cancer. It also provides breast ultrasound and needle biopsies, where necessary.

Each GP practice within the five PCTs will be offered screening for women aged 50 to 70 once every three years. The screening office will contact the GP practice prior to screening to discuss the programme. Women aged 50 to 70 registered with that practice will then be sent an appointment. Women over 70 can self-refer for routine screening by calling the Breast Screening Unit for an appointment. Women with changes in their breasts which concern them should go directly to their GP.

More than 157,000 women are invited for screening during each three-year programme. 28,000 of them are currently screened at the Duchess of Kent Breast Screening Unit off Blackshaw Road, on the St George's Hospital site. The Unit also has three mobile units, based at Sutton Hospital, Hawkes Road Clinic in Kingston, and in New Addington. There are also static sites at Teddington Memorial Hospital, Bolingbroke Hospital and at Allders department store in Croydon. This is to enable women to go for screening closer to home.

Approximately 95 per cent of women will get a normal result, receiving this information within three weeks of screening.

St George's Healthcare's Breast Screening Unit is a specialist training centre for staff working in breast screening, one of five in England. Training is provided for GPs on request.