Almost eight of every 10 women who were offered free breast screening by BreastCheck took up the offer last year, according to the agency. This is the highest level of acceptance since the programme began seven years ago.
The figure is contained in BreastCheck's 2006 annual report, just released. Also yesterday, BreastCheck announced that screening had begun in Cork, at the South Infirmary Victoria University Hospital. Screening will begin at University College Hospital in Galway early next week, according to BreastCheck chief executive Tony O'Brien.
He said this meant that the BreastCheck service was now available nationwide, five years after the agency made a submission seeking the national roll-out of the service.
In 2000, the BreastCheck programme began on a pilot basis, inviting women aged 50-64 for a free breast X-ray every two years.
The programme has gradually been extended around the State, although the Government has repeatedly been criticised for the delay in extending the service to all regions. Because it operates over a two-year period, some women in the south and west will not receive their first offer of screening until 2009.
Of the 63,271 women screened last year, 1,903 were recalled for assessment. Breast cancer was diagnosed in 337 cases, representing 5.3 cancers per 1,000 women screened.
Mr O'Brien said the 78.1 per cent take-up of screening was a major achievement and was a 1.5 per cent increase on the previous year. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's 2007 Health at a Glance report has placed Ireland fifth in the world for the percentage of women screened. The take-up of screening was highest in Norway at 98 per cent, followed by Finland, Sweden and the Netherlands.
"Clearly we won't be satisfied until we reach almost 100 per cent," Mr O'Brien said.
The agency expects to record a further increase in take-up this year, following the controversy over breast cancer tests in Portlaoise and other hospitals.
A mobile BreastCheck unit was operating in Portlaoise in recent weeks and there was a very high take-up of screening by the targeted women, according to Mr O'Brien. He said the breast cancer controversy was "a tragic situation" for the women involved. But he praised the Minister for Health, Mary Harney, for her support in extending BreastCheck, saying that she quickly approved the national roll-out of the scheme and was "supportive every step of the way".
Mr O'Brien said every BreastCheck mammogram was read independently by specially trained radiologists and if a further review was required, a "triple assessment approach" was taken.
He said some women did ask if they could trust the results, based on what had happened in Portlaoise, but confidence in the BreastCheck quality standards was high. He pointed out that the target for timely admission to hospital was exceeded for the first time since the programme began. Last year, 94.4 per cent of women diagnosed with breast cancer were admitted for treatment within three weeks.
Older people's support groups have criticised the exclusion of women over 64 years of age from the programme. BreastCheck has given a commitment to increasing the age limit to 70 once the service has been expanded nationwide but yesterday a spokeswoman said a precise deadline had not been set.
