NHS leaders reassuring message to women about the safety of attending for routine breast screening
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and women in the Midlands are being encouraged to attend for their regular breast screening appointment if they are contacted by screening services.
Coronavirus (Covid-19) has had a major impact on the NHS, including on breast screening services and, as a result, women may have waited longer than they usually do to be invited for regular screening. Now that services are getting up and running again, they can feel reassured by the safety measures that have been put in place.
Breast screening aims to find cancers early using an x-ray test called a mammogram. This can spot cancers when they are too small to see or feel. To protect everyone against the possible spread of Covid-19, screening providers will ensure that social distancing can be observed, and additional infection control procedures have been introduced. This includes the wearing of personal protective equipment by staff such as face masks and gloves.
Enhanced infection control measures mean that appointments may be held at a clinic different to the usual venue and these may take longer than usual. Women are also being asked to wear a face covering at their appointment, unless there is a reason that they cannot do so.
Dr Ash Banerjee, Screening and Immunisations Lead for NHS England and Improvement in the Midlands says:
“Measures are in place to ensure that essential, routine screening can be delivered safely. About one in eight women in the UK are diagnosed with breast cancer during their lifetime, so it’s important to attend for routine screening when this is offered.
“As long as you or any member of your household are not displaying symptoms of coronavirus and are not self-isolating, breast screening should take place as normal.
“Please attend for your screening appointment if you are contacted by a breast screening provider and informed that you are due for your routine screen.”
About routine breast screening:
After screening, about 1 in 25 women will be called back for further assessment. Being called back does not mean that someone has cancer. The first mammogram may have been unclear. About 1 in 4 women who are called back for further assessment are diagnosed with breast cancer.
As the likelihood of getting breast cancer increases with age, all women aged from 50 to their 71st birthday who are registered with a GP are automatically invited for breast screening every 3 years. Women may be eligible for breast screening before the age of 50 if they have a very high risk of developing breast cancer.
Anyone worried about breast cancer symptoms should speak to their GP as soon as possible.
In 2018/19:
- 71.7% of women accepted their breast screening invitation (aged 50 to 70) and 2.23 million women were screened
- 19,558 women had cancers detected by screening (a rate of 8.8 cases per 1,000 women screened)
- detection rates were highest for small invasive cancers (3.5 per 1,000 women)
- detection rates were lowest for non-invasive or micro-invasive cancers (1.8 per 1,000 women).
Supporting your recovery after COVID-19
As you find yourself recovering from COVID-19 you may still be coming to terms with the impact the virus has had on both your body and mind.
These changes should get better over time, some may take longer than others, but there are things you can do to help.
Your COVID Recovery helps you to understand what has happened and what you might expect as part of your recovery. Find out more information at www.yourcovidrecovery.nhs.uk
NHS App
Owned and run by the NHS, the NHS App is a simple and secure way to access a range of NHS services on your smartphone or tablet.
The NHS App is available now on iOS and Android. To use it you must be aged 13 and over and registered with a GP surgery in England.
What the NHS App does
Use the NHS App to:
- get advice about coronavirus – get information about coronavirus and find out what to do if you think you have it
- order repeat prescriptions – see your available medicines, request a new repeat prescription and choose a pharmacy for your prescriptions to be sent to
- book appointments – search for, book and cancel appointments at your GP surgery, and see details of your upcoming and past appointments
- check your symptoms – search trusted NHS information and advice on hundreds of conditions and treatments, and get instant advice or medical help near you
- view your medical record – securely access your GP medical record, to see information like your allergies and your current and past medicines
- register your organ donation decision – choose to donate some or all of your organs and check your registered decision
- find out how the NHS uses your data – choose if data from your health records is shared for research and planning
Other services in the NHS App
If your GP surgery or hospital offers other services in the NHS App, you may be able to:
- message your GP surgery, doctor or health professional online
- consult a GP or health professional through an online form and get a reply
- access health services on behalf of someone you care for
- view your hospital and other healthcare appointments
- view useful links your doctor or health professional has shared with you
Keeping your data secure
After you download the app, you will need to set up an NHS login and prove who you are. The app then securely connects to information from your GP surgery.
If your device supports fingerprint detection or facial recognition, you can use it to log in to the NHS App each time, instead of using a password and security code.
Get help with the app
If you have any issues using or downloading the app, check the NHS App help and support page.
Coronavirus – Latest Advice
Changes to Audley Health Centre:
We are continuing to open and offer our service as normal with the following exceptions:
- We are booking telephone consultations in place of face to face consultations
- We are making use of video calls, texts, emails and photos to aid in remote consultations
- We are encouraging patients to use online access or the NHS App to order their prescriptions and to set a chemist nomination so that your prescription can be sent electronically to your chemist.
- Where patients do not have internet access, patients should call the Prescription Ordering Direct (POD) line on 01782 276960 to order their medications over the phone.
- We are advising patients not to attend the surgery unnecessarily
- We are making face to face appointments if the clinician feels it appropriate to do so following a telephone consultation.
- We are asking all patients who attend the surgery to wear a face covering or mask – we cannot provide these and you will be refused entry to the practice without a face covering (a mask if possible but if not a scarf or similar wrapped around the mouth and nose will be acceptable.
- We are checking patient temperatures on entry to the building and if this is over 38.7C you will be asked to leave (We are temperature checking everyone who enters the building including Staff and contractors).
- We are currently operating 2 meter social distancing throughout the building / premises
- If for any reason you can’t contact us by phone, you can contact us by email using the email on the “contact us” page.
How to get an isolation note for your employer
This service, at nhs.uk, is for those who have been told to stay at home because of coronavirus and you need a note for your employer.
This service is only for people who:
- have symptoms of coronavirus and have used the 111 online coronavirus service
- have been told by a healthcare professional they have symptoms of coronavirus
- live with someone who has symptoms of coronavirus
If you are not sure if you need to stay at home, get the latest NHS advice on coronavirus.
If you have to stay at home but feel well enough to work, ask your employer if you can work from home. If you can work from home, you will not need an isolation note.
You can also use this service for someone else.
Changes to appointment system during on-going Coronavirus situation
Due to
the ongoing situation with Coronavirus, we are taking measures in line with
guidance shared by NHS England and Public Health authorities to minimise risks
associated with the virus.
In order to protect our patients and staff and we are asking our patients
support with this.
We are currently asking all patients not to come into the surgery and to book appointments via phone from home. One of our Clinicians will then triage over the phone to see if they are suitable to attend the surgery.
Thank you for your on-going support during this time.
Now is the time to quit – National No Smoking Day
Today marks National No Smoking Day, aiming to bring awareness to the dangers of this addition and highlight resources available to you to help you quit!
Every cigarette causes real harm and with quitting you’ll be amazed at how quickly you’ll see the benefits. You’ll breathe more easily, feel fitter, your skin will look better, your sense of taste will come back and it can improve your fertility. If you have kids, you’ll be protecting them from the risk of asthma attacks, ear infections and cancers. You could also be around £250 a month better off too – that’s £3000 a year – just think what you could spend that on!
If you are ready to take that big step and quit, you can find advice and support to help you at:
Novel Coronavirus – Important Advice for Returning Travellers
You may need to get medical advice if you’ve recently travelled to the UK from somewhere with a higher risk of coronavirus.
These places are:
- Cambodia
- China
- Hong Kong
- Iran
- Italy – only northern Italy (anywhere north of Pisa, Florence and Rimini)
- Japan
- Laos
- Macau
- Malaysia
- Myanmar (Burma)
- Singapore
- South Korea
- Taiwan
- Tenerife – only the H10 Costa Adeje Palace Hotel
- Thailand
- Vietnam
If you’ve been to one of these places in the last 14 days, find out what to do using the NHS 111 online coronavirus service.
For more information on Coronavirus including symptoms and how it can spread visit the NHS.uk Coronavirus page.