NHS Lothian welcomes back breast screening patients

The team, which is based at Ardmillan House in Edinburgh, are running extended clinics throughout the week, as well as additional Saturday appointments to ensure they can screen those patients whose appointments were cancelled because of Covid-19, as soon as possible.

Once these patients have been screened, the service will open up more widely.

Janet Clarke, clinical lead for breast screening, NHS Lothian, said that screening teams have adapted how they are working to ensure they can reach those people whose appointments were cancelled as soon as possible.

She added: “We understand that for those patients who had screening appointments cancelled, there may be a degree of apprehension.

“Ensuring we see these patients as soon as possible is a priority for us, which is why the service will be operating extended hours, including offering Saturday appointments.

“We hope that by adopting this approach, we can ensure that screening returns to normal, albeit a new type of normal, as quickly as possible.”

Patients will be asked to arrive as close to their appointment time as possible, waiting areas will have reduced capacity to allow for social distancing, patients will be asked to wear a face mask or a face covering and staff will be in PPE.

Despite these changes, the screening itself will remain the same, and staff will be on hand to offer both assistance and reassurance to patients.