Breast screening rate 'unacceptable', meeting told

Attendance to possibly life-saving breast cancer screenings in Doncaster was at an "unacceptable" level, a meeting has heard.

In 2023-24, just under 67% of eligible women took part in breast screenings – below both what was considered an "acceptable" level of 70% and an "achievable" level of 80%, the city's Health and Wellbeing Board (HWB) was told at a meeting on Thursday.

Councillor Nigel Ball, HWB chair, said there was "a fair bit of work to do there in improving women's health".

However, Rachael Leslie, Doncaster's director of public health, said recent innovations such as a mobile screening service were having a positive impact.

Ball said: "Clearly, we are unacceptable in Doncaster."

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, there were calls at the meeting for more community-orientated support for increasing the number of people taking part in breast cancer screening.

One attendee told the meeting: "It's not just about a health response that's needed, it's a community response.

"Communities are really well-placed to support women to their appointments and provide their stories.

"Sometimes, a bus fare is the difference between a woman getting screened and not getting screened."

Members of the HWB were also told there was a lower-than-ideal uptake in childhood vaccinations, especially the second MMR vaccination.

According to a report seen by members of the board, uptake for the MMR1 vaccine, administered at 24 months, was at 91.6% in the second quarter of 2024.

In the same period, uptake for the MMR2 vaccine, administered at the age of five, was down at 84.3%.

However, consultant Dr Victor Joseph told the meeting both were a "gradual increase" on the first quarter of 2024.

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