AQW 25433/22-27


Ms Claire Sugden
Independent
East Londonderry


Tabled Date: 01/04/2025
Answered On Date: 16/04/2025
Priority Written: No


Question:
To ask the Minister of Health to detail the (i) target waiting times; and (ii) current average waiting times for breast screening services, broken down by Health and Social Care Trust.


Answer:
The Public Health Agency (PHA) advise that data on the waiting times for breast screening services is not collected.
For screening mammography, PHA measures the round length, which is the proportion of eligible women, whose date of first offered appointment is less than, or equal to 36 months, from their previous episode. The acceptable standard is greater than, or equal, to 90.0%.
The most recently available NI data for the round length, is from Quarter 3 of 2024/25:
Breast screening unit
Quarter 3 (2024/25) round length figures (%)
Annual figures (2023/24) for round length figures (%)
Belfast (covers women resident in both Belfast and South Eastern Trusts)
100
99.1
Northern
100
93.5
Southern
81*
99.8
Western
83*
98.3
*While PHA has provided quarterly figures as the latest figures available, official reporting is on an annual basis. The most recent annual report is for 2023/24.
For screening assessment following abnormal findings on a screening mammogram, the standard measured is the proportion of women referred for assessment whose date of first offered appointment at an assessment centre is less than or equal to 3 weeks (less than or equal to 21 calendar days) from attendance for the screening mammogram. The acceptable standard is greater than or equal to 95%.
The most recently available NI data for screening assessment is from Quarter 3 of 2024/25:
Breast screening unit
%
Belfast (covers women resident in both Belfast and South Eastern Trusts)
97
Northern
100
Southern
100
Western
100