Breast Screening
The UK was one of the first countries in the world to establish a national population-based breast screening programme. There are six static screening centres in Scotland supported by nineteen mobile units. The first screening centres became operational in 1988 with national coverage being attained in 1991.
The UK National Health Service Breast Screening Programme (NHSBSP), a UK-wide programme of free mammographic screening for breast cancer, was introduced following a recommendation from a working party established by the four UK Departments of Health and chaired by Sir Patrick Forrest. The working party concluded that there was evidence that screening for breast cancer could reduce mortality by up to 30%.
Until recently, women aged 50-64 years were invited for a routine screen once every three years, and women aged over 64 years were screened three yearly on request. The age range for invitation has been extended to include women up to the age of 70 years (women over 70 years will continue to be screened on request). In Scotland, this expansion is being phased in across the country over one 3-year round of screening, which began in 2003/04. The current screening method used in Scotland consists of two mammographic views at first screen and one view at subsequent screens.
Within Scotland (as part of the Scottish Breast Screening Programme) information and performance data are collected by each of the six screening centres and compiled by ISD on an annual basis. The NHSBSP performance standards, which are a series of objectives under which minimum and target performance standards are specified, are the means by which this information is evaluated. The NHSBSP performance standards are for women aged 50-64 and, for statistical purposes, will be extended to include women up to the age of 70 when the programme expansion is complete. The Scottish programme is also reviewed against clinical performance standards by NHS Quality Improvement Scotland.
Statistical Publication Notice : Breast screening.
Key facts
At 31st March 2007:
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75.7% of women aged 50-64 resident in Scotland had been screened once in the previous three years, compared with 76.4% at 31st March 2006.
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Looking at three year rolling attendance figures, uptake continues to rise from 76.2% at 31st March 2006 to 76.5% at 31 March 2007.
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All NHS Boards met the minimum attendance standard of >70% of women invited during the previous three years.
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In previous years the majority of NHSBSP performance standards were either met or exceeded and for the first time, in 2006-07, all NHSBSP performance standards were achieved.
- The proportion of cancers diagnosed pre-operatively has increased from 67.7% to 94.7% in the last ten years.
In 2006-07:
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Over 166,000 women of all ages were screened within the programme.
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1,395 cases of cancer were diagnosed in women of all ages, of which 893 were diagnosed in women aged 50-64.
Tables and charts
Screening statistics up to 31st March 2007
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Performance standards 
[21KB]: uptake, cancer detection, standardised detection ratio, recalled for assessment and early recall rates -
Performance standards (three-year rolling periods) [127KB]: trends in performance from 1st April 2000
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Biopsy results [34KB]: pre-operative diagnosis and diagnostic open biopsies rates from 1st April 1996
Breast cancer mortality [22KB]: trends in mortality since the start of the screening programme.
Deprivation [37KB]: percentage uptake by deprivation category, up to 31st March 2002.
Breast screening links
Breast cancer statistics : detailed incidence and mortality data, lifetime risk, prevalence and survival statistics.
NHS Breast Screening Programme (NHSBSP) : general information and publications relating to breast screening in the UK.
Breast screening - National Overview (November 2003) 
[480KB] and Current status report (December 2006) [1,302KB]: reports produced by NHS Quality Improvement Scotland.
BASO audit of screen detected breast cancers : an annual report comparing diagnosis, treatment and survival in each UK region against QA standards.
National Services Division (NSD) , which has responsibility for providing the Scottish Breast Screening Programme.
Information about breast screening
Breast screening explained [344KB]: leaflet produced by Health Scotland
Ayrshire and Arran breast screening website : includes general information about the screening process.
Details of data sources.
Cancer Stats
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