New Breast Screening Clinic opens at Wakefield's Trinity Walk

As a result of the pandemic, in July 2020 there was a screening backlog of 12,000 women in the two cities, but now, the breast screening teams of radiographers, nurses and administration personnel are celebrating zero backlog.

The new centre in Wakefield’s Trinity Walk is on the ground floor, has great transport links, is wheelchair accessible and has been fitted out with brand new equipment.

It is hoped that women with accessibility challenges, who previously travelled to the service at Seacroft Hospital in Leeds, will now more readily take up their appointment, as national NHS statistics highlighted recently that nearly four in 10 women did not take up the potentially lifesaving offer to get screened.

Professor Phil Wood, Chief Executive, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, officially opened the screening centre and said: “I’m delighted to see this centre up and running and already with a full appointments book.

"The new screening clinic in Wakefield gives more women greater access to vital screening options. I’m incredibly proud of the efforts by the breast screening teams to get to a point of no waiting list and that the Leeds and Wakefield service plays such an important role in women’s health in the region.”

The National Health Service Breast Screening Programme (NHS BSP) at Leeds Teaching Hospitals offers screening appointments to an average of 61,000 women who are invited annually and are aged between 50-70 years old.

Screening units are located at St James’ University Hospital, Seacroft Hospital, Wakefield Trinity, Wharfedale Hospital and has three mobile units making screening as convenient as possible for those called.

Regular screening can help flag any irregularities, with approximately 1,800 patients requiring further assessment after their initial mammograms.

These women are then seen and examined at Seacroft Hospital under the supervision of a Consultant Breast Radiologist.

Further mammograms, ultrasound scans and biopsy procedures are frequent.