Mobile breast cancer screening service returns to Hope and New Mills

Mobile breast cancer screening clinics are expected to return to Hope and New Mills in the coming days, reinstating a service which was withdrawn in 2020 and offering easier access to potentially life-saving early detection.
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The mobile screening vans have already begun visiting Buxton and Chapel again earlier this year, and are adding more stops to the route as they work to clear a backlog of appointments.

While the schedule is still subject to change due to staff availability and appointment uptake in each area, the vans are expected at the New Mills Clinic and Hope Clinic in the first week of December.

The mobile screening unit was taken off the road last year, ostensibly due to Covid, meaning patients had to travel to Chesterfield or Bakewell instead and leaving some struggling to take advantage of the screening offer.

The North Derbyshire Breast Screening Service offers appointments to around 20,000 women every year. (Photo: HEMEDIA/SWNS Group)The North Derbyshire Breast Screening Service offers appointments to around 20,000 women every year. (Photo: HEMEDIA/SWNS Group)
The North Derbyshire Breast Screening Service offers appointments to around 20,000 women every year. (Photo: HEMEDIA/SWNS Group)

In response to pressure from the Derbyshire public and political leaders, NHS bosses put the service back on the road in the summer, doubling its capacity from two to four vans and offering weekend clinics in an effort to make up for lost time.

Run by the Chesterfield Royal Hospital Trust, the service invites around 20,000 women for screening each year.

Eligible patients, predominantly women aged 50-71, are offered appointments once every three years as part of the National Breast Screening Programme (NHSBSP), which has been shown to save around 1,300 lives every year through early detection and treatment.

Run by the Chesterfield Royal Hospital Trust, the service invites around 20,000 women for screening each year.

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