The NHS will launch a new ‘ping and book’ service for cervical and breast cancer screening in a bid to boost uptake and save more lives and money.
From next month, women who use the NHS App on their mobile phone will be sent notifications letting them know they are due or overdue their mamogram.
This will be expanded to smear tests in spring next year and, from early 2026, millions of women will be able book breast screening appointments through the NHS app.
It is part of plans to fully digitise the way reminders and appointments are run for breast, bowel and cervical screening, with the aim of saving the NHS more than £130million over the next five years.
Under the new rollout, women who do not have the app and those who do not respond to messages will be sent an email or text message, followed by a letter through the post.
NHS cancer screening programmes currently send over 25million invitations, reminders and results letters to patients by post, costing £14.7million every year, NHS England said.
More than 18,000 breast cancers were picked up in women across England last year through screening (file image)
Women who use the NHS App on their mobile phone will be sent notifications letting them know they are due or overdue their mamogram (file image)
Amanda Pritchard, chief executive of NHS England, told the NHS Providers’ annual conference in Liverpool: ‘We are really excited by the potential of technology to revolutionise access to cancer screening for women and help ensure everyone eligible can make the most of these life-saving services at the touch of a button.
‘Next month we’re starting the rollout of a new “ping and book” approach for breast and cervical checks through the NHS app, which will replace costs of letters and text messages with pop-ups on your phone and help make it as convenient as possible to book appointments.’
More than 18,942 breast cancers were picked up in women across England last year through screening.
However despite rising uptake overall last year, figures for 2022/23 show that more than a third of women (35.4 per cent) did not take up the offer of breast screening following an invitation.
Overall, 2.18million eligible women in England have not had a mammogram in the last three years.
Data also shows that, as of December last year, around one in three women aged 25 to 49 did not take up their cervical screening invitation, while just over a quarter of those aged 50 to 64 did not.
Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting has welcomed the plans, saying it will make the process ‘easier for millions of women’
Michelle Mitchell, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, said: ‘Screening programmes are effective tools in spotting cancer early, before symptoms start.
‘Innovations like this could make it easier for people to access screening, and ultimately, increase the number of cancers caught at an early stage.’
Athena Lamnisos, chief executive of women’s health charity Eve Appeal, said: ‘To meet the ambitious but achievable goal of eliminating cervical cancer, we need to encourage everyone eligible to take part in the screening programme.
‘Modernising the invitation system is key to this – letting people know when screening is due and making it simple for them to book an appointment that works for them.’
The move comes following the announcement of a new pilot scheme in Somerset, to see whether 111 online could refer women with ‘red flag’ symptoms for breast cancer checks without the need to see a GP, as the NHS continues its drive to improve women’s health.
Claire Rowney, chief executive of Breast Cancer Now, said: ‘Breast screening plays a central role in saving more lives from breast cancer.
‘Yet the stark reality is, thousands of women in England are missing having their breast cancer detected each year, and the decline in breast screening uptake in recent years is deeply concerning.
‘This is why urgent changes to the breast screening programme are needed to guarantee women’s access both now and for the future.’
Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said: ‘If we’re going to make the NHS fit for the future, we need to catch cancers earlier so that we can give people the best possible chance of survival.
‘I hugely welcome plans to make it easier for millions of women to book a screening by harnessing the power of the NHS app.’
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