Two new state-of-the-art mobile breast screening units are operating across Somerset.
The upgraded units, which travel across the county to bring screening closer to home, replace vehicles which had been in use for around 15 years and had become increasingly costly and difficult to maintain.
Lesley Stephenson, Somerset NHS Foundation Trust’s superintendent radiographer, said the old units had “seen better days”, with recurring mechanical issues affecting both reliability and patient experience.
“We have replaced generators twice and they’re very noisy and vibrating, which is not ideal for the experience of patients while being screened,” she added.
“It has become prohibitive and expensive to keep replacing everything on the unit.”
The new units use a hybrid generator and battery system, dramatically reducing noise and vibration during appointments.
Around 77,000 women, or those registered with a GP as female, in Somerset aged between 50 and 71 are eligible for routine breast screening, which is offered every three years.
Those eligible are first invited between the ages of 50 and 53, with appointments continuing until your 71st birthday.
The mobile units play a key role in delivering that programme, rotating between communities across the county to ensure screening is accessible without long journeys to hospital, which is particularly important given Somerset’s rural geography and sometimes limited public transport networks.
Dr Zoe Goldthorpe, the trust’s director of Somerset Breast Screening, said: “Screening people in their locality aims to make breast screening more accessible to those who are eligible, bringing it closer to home and having it performed at a time and place which minimises impact on busy lives.”
Hannah Fitch-Goodwin, Somerset NHS Foundation Trust’s breast screening programme manager, said the service is focused on early detection and prevention, helping to identify potential issues before symptoms develop.
“The screening programme aims to detect early disease, which has better outcomes,” she said.
“If a potential concern is identified, women are recalled to Musgrove to see specialist clinicians in the breast care unit and those subsequently found to have cancer treated at Yeovil or Taunton.”
The introduction of the new units also supports wider NHS ambitions to provide more care in community settings.
Hannah added: “We’ve been trying to align our work to the NHS 10 Year Plan, which is all about prevention and care closer to home.”
Women, or those registered with a GP as female, over the age of 71 can still access screening by self-referral, while eligible transgender and non-binary people are encouraged to speak to their GP about being included in the programme.
PHOTO: The new units were officially opened in Deb Roan, a nurse who used to work at the trust, who was diagnosed with bilateral breast cancer in 2024.
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