Why a breast screening service has moved on from Tunbridge Wells

Why a breast screening service has moved on from Tunbridge Wells
The car park outside Sainsbury's in Tunbridge Wells, where the screening service used to be

For six months until the end of September, a screening van outside Sainsbury’s in Linden Park Road offered appointments to some women in the area for a check-up.

The van has moved on and is now at Maidstone Hospital, while another mobile unit can be found in Cranbrook.

All women registered with a GP and aged between 50 and 70 are invited for a mammogram every three years, although some may be called from the age of 47 or up to 73. Others over 70 are encouraged to self-refer.

However, if a woman misses her screening and the van has moved on, they will need to contact the screening office to make an appointment and may have to travel to the nearest van or Maidstone Hospital.

An NHS spokesman said: “We move the vans to different locations so ladies can be screened in their own locality.

“This is convenient for them and increases the attendance rate.  Women are invited by GP practice in batches.

“A specific area is screened and then the mobile unit moves onto the next area, once all practices in that area have been screened.”

 

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