Ms Fiona Murphy:

Uptake of breast screening is variable across the country. It is very high in some geographic areas and it is higher, as Ms Morrogh has stated, in affluent areas rather than deprived places. We have seen very good uptake since we restarted screening in October, with more than 70% of women who were called having come forward. It is important that those who have not come forward have let us know they are not coming so we can use the appointment for somebody else. Again, we ask people to do this and if they are not coming to an allotted appointment, we can maximise the space we have and give the appointment to somebody else.

Major work has been done over many years trying to increase uptake and ensure people can make an informed decision about whether they want to take up screening. There are areas where we need to pay particular focus. Our health promotion teams have worked with Traveller communities, those who are more deprived and, as Ms Morrogh mentioned, those with lower health literacy to try to encourage them to avail of the service.

With breast screening we try with deployment of mobile units to ensure geography is not a barrier to access. A mobile unit will appear in an area at some stage over a two-year period and there would be an opportunity to take up screening. It is a continuous process. No single campaign is the answer and we can never let up. We must continuously go out with messages. In new social media, for example, we have some fantastic influencers who use their Instagram to encourage followers to take up screening and let them know there is nothing to fear. That is very welcome. It is part of our plan every year to try to encourage uptake.