South Essex Breast Screening Service

Welcome to the South Essex NHS Breast Screening service. Our Southend Hospital breast unit and its three dedicated mobile screening vans, currently cater for a population of approximately 94,000 women from the Shoebury, Thorpe Bay, Southend, Westcliff, Leigh, Thundersley, Canvey, Basildon, Stanford, Corringham, Grays, Lakeside, Rochford, Hockley, Rayleigh, Billericay and Wickford areas.

The breast screening service was first introduced to the NHS in 1987, following a report which highlighted the importance of implementing a high quality screening service to reduce mortality of women from breast cancer.

To achieve this, mammograms (X-rays) of both breasts are taken and then interpreted by two highly qualified mammography film readers.

Current statistics show that approximately one in eight women in the UK will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime.

The aim of this service is to detect breast cancer at an early stage, often before any symptoms have been noted, so that treatment may therefore be simpler, more effective and enable a better chance of recovery.

Currently our mobile screening units are located in Grays, Wickford and Southend.

Contact breast screening office: 01702 385024

Email: bss@southend.nhs.uk

Useful links:

http://wommen.org.uk

This is a hub intended to complement the NHS breast screening information already available. It is an independent website with lots of information, videos and chat forums.