Page 4772 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 20 October 2010
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the clinicians there are very strong and mixed views around whether that is the right thing to do, and whether for the small amount of women identified—small but still important—in the 40 to 50 years target group, that should be the focus of a free universal screening system. So it is not an easy one. Here in the ACT it is available for women. They do not get recalled. So between 40 and 50, it is at their own initiative to book a screen and then to follow up. But once you hit the target years, you are followed up every two years.
With the BreastScreen program, all mammograms are taken by specially trained female radiographers. All mammograms are read independently by two radiologists who are experienced in reading and interpreting breast X-rays. Assessment clinics for women who have been recalled for further tests are run by a multidisciplinary team, including radiographers, radiologists, breast surgeons, pathologists and nurse counsellors. Nurse counsellors are available at the clinic to provide support and information to women at any stage of the screening and assessment process.
Demand for breast screening services has been consistently high for several years now. In order to allow for those additional screenings and to provide better access for women who live on the south side of Canberra, we opened a new screening site at Phillip Health Centre in November 2008. The establishment of this screening site has allowed the program to increase both our screening and assessment capacity.
We also provided funding of almost $6 million for the implementation of an integrated breast screen information system with a picture archival communication system and digital mammography equipment to support the operational environment of BreastScreen ACT and South East New South Wales. This solution resulted from a joint venture between the commonwealth-funded national digital mammography program and a single ACT Health project which is responsible for the establishment of streamlined business processes across BreastScreen ACT and South East New South Wales.
This project involves the replacement of all mammography equipment in the ACT from the current analog systems to a digital system and the establishment of a long-term archival system for image storage. All the women who are currently going to BreastScreen have had their previous screen loaded on this system, and what it means now is that when you have your next screen it comes up on the screen alongside the screen you had two years ago. As that archival system works, they will be able to bring up your last three screens plus your new one, so that the experts are able to see straightaway whether there have been any changes to tissue or other aspects of the breast when they are doing that screening.
That means during that screen, if they need to see more of a particular area, they can do that straightaway. That really does revolutionise the system when you think that at the moment the analog system is film based. It then gets couriered to Sydney for a second screening. This gives the opportunity to email those screens interstate and that turnaround time changes consistently.
I accept that in the area of cancer we certainly have to continue our work and do more. This is an area of growth. I completely agree with Ms Bresnan’s comments around
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