About Screening
Information Leaflets - Our aims
Breast Test Wales is part of the NHS. We provide a high-quality breast-screening service to women aged 50 and over throughout Wales. Our specially trained staff will treat you politely and with care and consideration at all times.
Your invitation
We will:
- send you your first invitation for breast screening before your 53rd birthday and then every three years until you are 70;
- arrange an appointment for you if you ask for one if you are over 70 and if it is three years since you were last screened;
- send you clear information about the benefits and risks of screening;
- tell you when your appointment will be, at least seven days beforehand;
- make it easy to change your appointment; and
- respect your right to choose not to be screened.
Your screen
We will:
- see you within 30 minutes of your appointment time;
- screen you to the highest standards;
- send you your result within three weeks;
- reduce, as far as possible, any recalls for technical reasons (to less than 2% of women screened); and
- tell you about any delays.
If you need more tests
We will:
- offer you an appointment within one week of you receiving our recall letter;
- send you clear information telling you why some women are called back; and
- give you the results of your tests on the day if possible, or ask you to return for results within a week if your tests are more complicated.
Less than 1% of women we screen have breast cancer. However, if we diagnose breast cancer we will:
- tell you honestly and sensitively;
- offer you support from one of our breast-care nurses;
- include your partner or companion in any discussions, if you want us to;
- give you full and clear information;
- explain your treatment options;
- involve you fully in decision-making;
- arrange for you to have treatment;
- respect your right to refuse treatment, get a second opinion or to choose alternative treatment if you want to; and
- give you information about support services.
Confidentiality
We need to keep some information about you, so that we can invite you for screening and check how well the screening programme is working.
We will:
- keep your personal details confidential; and
- only share information with people who have a legal or medical need for it, for example, your GP.
Ask for our leaflet 'How we use information about you' for more details.
Please help us by:
- carefully reading the information we send you - ask us if you would like it in large print, on audio tape, in pictures or in other languages.
- keeping to your appointment time; and
- giving us at least 3 days notice if you want to change your appointment.
If you have any comments about our screening programme, please let us know.
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