WOMEN from the most deprived areas of Scotland are less likely to attend breast screening appointments, new figures have revealed.
Fewer than three-fifths of women from poorer areas attend for breast cancer screening, compared to nearly four-fifths of women in the most affluent communities.
The Scottish Government have urged women not to ignore their invites to an appointment, after screening was paused at the beginning of the pandemic to ease the pressure on the NHS.
The latest data from Publish Health Scotland revealed that a total of 561,125 women aged between 50 and 70 attended for a routine breast screen appointment between 2017-18 and 2019-20.
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Over the period, that equates to almost three quarters (72.2%) of women having the checks, which can help detect breast cancer.
But the figures showed women in the most deprived areas were less likely to come forward for the check-ups when invited.
According to the data, 59.9% of women in the poorest areas attended a screening appointment, compared to 79.6% of women in the least deprived communities.
Public Health Scotland noted that this pattern, where people in the most deprived areas are less likely to attend, was “also seen in other screening programmes”.
The number of women coming forward for screening in total over the three years between 2017-19 and 2019-20 was “similar” to the previous three years – with the levels for both these exceeding the 70% minimum acceptable standard.
However, two health boards failed to achieve this, with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and NHS Lanarkshire screening 67.2% and 69.7% of eligible women respectively.
In the 20 years since the Scottish breast screening programme was established, with more than 4.3 million checks on women performed over that period, which in turn have detected more than 34,200 cases of breast cancer.
There has been full national coverage of the Scottish Breast screening programme from 1991 and since then more than 4.3 million examinations have been carried out with more than 34,200 breast cancers diagnosed.
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Currently, all women aged between 50 and 70 are invited for a routine breast screening examination every three years.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “It is encouraging that the latest statistics show overall uptake exceeded the minimum 70% target for the programme.
“However, we want to go further to ensure that the target is met in all areas of Scotland, and to tackle the inequalities that result in lower uptake in more deprived areas.
“The NHS in Scotland has recently undertaken a review of the breast screening programme to identify ways in which we can develop the programme to reflect pressures and capacity constraints. This review will report later this year.
“The Scottish Government has also set aside £2 million over the next two years to tackle inequalities within the cancer screening programmes, including those that have arisen as a result of Covid-19.
“It is very important that people do not ignore their screening invite, and anyone who is concerned that they may have symptoms of breast cancer should contact their GP practice without delay.”
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