The SCoR works closely with the National Health Service Breast Screening Programme and links to Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland programmes to provide professional guidance and support for the radiographic workforce including assistant practitioners.
The College of Radiographers postgraduate award in mammography practice was introduced in 2001. For UK radiographers wanting to develop their scope of practice into mammography this is the standard required to work within the NHSBSP. Providers of approved postgraduate programmes can be found here.
International applicants for mammographic roles, who must be HCPC registered radiographers, will currently be assessed by employers for equivalent qualifications, education, training and experience on an individual basis. Further guidance is under development.
The NHS Cancer Screening Programme website provides a lot of general information on breast screening.
The European Commission Initiative on Breast Cancer (ECIBC)
ECIBC is developing the European Breast Guidelines, evidence based recommendations. The European Breast Guidelines provide women and healthcare providers with clear, objective and independent guidance on breast cancer screening and diagnosis. They guide healthcare managers and policy-makers in planning, organising and monitoring the effectiveness of services for breast cancer screening and diagnosis. The recommendations already available can be found online, and more will be released in the coming months, as soon as they are finalised.
Useful web links and additional resources
DenseBreast-info/Europe:
A medically sourced resource developed by and for health care professionals to advance education on the screening and risk implications for dense breast tissue.
PDF Doc: DenseBreast-info Supports Expanded Breast Density Educational Efforts in Europe as European Federation of Radiographer Societies Shares Resources with Members
NEWS: Free CME/CE Course Launched [American resource providing free e-learning update and suitable for UK radiographers and referrers]
DB-I has launched its second-generation CME/CE program, Dense Breasts and Supplemental Screening (press release here).
- The course has been developed for primary care healthcare providers who refer women to breast screening, including family medicine, internal medicine, and OB/GYN physicians and midlevel providers, as well as radiologists, and radiologic technologists.
- To encourage participation, the course will now be free.
- National breast Imaging Academy
The National Breast Imaging Academy programme is a collaborative, national, multidisciplinary initiative which encompasses a range of solutions to address the severe workforce issues faced in the delivery of breast imaging services across England - Breast Cancer Now
Support and information for health care professionals working in breast cancer - Wommen Word of mouth mammogram e-network
We are the breast screening community; women from all walks of life with an interest in breast screening. This includes women from the breast screening population, mammography staff, university and lecturers and researchers.
Up to date mammography guidance can be found for each of the four UK countries below:
Improving screening attendance
Encouraging 'hard-to-reach' groups of women to attend screening is a challenge for all breast screening services. In the North Midlands, the breast screening unit has been using Facebook to engage with women since 2014. An NHS Digital Widening Participation grant provided the funding to expand their programme of work with women across the region, especially those who are less well-represented. The unit bucked the national decline in first time attenders across seven sites in Stoke-on-Trent and the Country Hospital, Stafford improved attendance by an average of 12.9%. Click here for more information.
Governance:
The Society and College of Radiographers professional officer responsible for mammography is Sue Johnson