Almost a quarter of the women in the east and midland regions who are being offered free screening to detect breast cancer at an early stage are failing to avail of the programme.
The director of the BreastCheck screening programme, Mr Tony O'Brien, said yesterday he wanted to improve uptake levels. He said women from lower socio-economic groups were less likely to take up screening and in an attempt to overcome this, BreastCheck had been advertising the programme at bingo halls and at the Moore Street traders market in Dublin's inner city.
At the publication of BreastCheck's annual report for 2002, he said over 38,000 women - an uptake rate of 78 per cent - attended screening last year which resulted in 306 new cases of breast cancer being diagnosed.
There has been some criticism of the fact that the screening programme is still not available nationwide. Mr O'Brien said he hoped it would be available to all women in the 50 to 64 age bracket by 2005. In the meantime, BreastCheck has urged women outside the screening areas to be vigilant for signs of the disease and to see their GP if they have concerns.
One of the difficulties the programme has faced has been a shortage of radiographers, but last year it was finally able to fill all vacancies. Yesterday the Minister for Health, Mr Martin, announced the setting up of a training centre for radiographers in mammography which will ensure enough staff are available to extend the screening programme around the country.
Meanwhile BreastCheck's accounts for 2002 show it spent more money on travel and subsistence than on actual screening. It spent over €88,000 on travel and subsistence and almost €58,000 on x-rays/imaging. Mr O'Brien said this was because screening was often carried out by mobile screening units travelling to the women in their own communities.