Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the additional resources required to (a) manage and (b) clear the breast screening backlog created as a result of covid-19.
NHS England and NHS Improvement have made good progress in clearing the backlog of appointments caused by the COVID-19 pandemic: all local National Health Service breast screening services are operational and are working to ensure that these women are invited for screening as quickly as possible.
Services have been advised to prioritise women aged 53 who have not yet been screened and women aged 71 or over awaiting a breast screening invitation, together with women assessed as being at very high risk of developing breast cancer. NHS England and NHS Improvement have also made funding available to trusts to support the adaptation of mobile breast screening units in order to enhance their safe use and so maximise the number of units available to screen women.