Improvements to the PEI Breast Screening Program will reduce wait times significantly over the coming months announced Health and Wellness Minister Carolyn Bertram.
The improvements to the provincial breast screening program have included much more than just the installation of three new digital mammography units last year – two at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and one at Prince County Hospital. Staffing shortages have been addressed with the addition of new positions; a radiologist has been secured and will provide much-needed support to the program on a more frequent and consistent basis; a new centralized phone number and booking system installed last fall have been fully implemented; and hours of service at both breast screening sites have been expanded.
“Providing timely access to our breast screening program is key to early detection and diagnosis,” said Minister Bertram. “Enhancing our technology, adding health resources and improving our processes are a collective means to improving patient care. With all of these elements now in place, we are excited to be able to improve access to this important service and reduce wait times for Islanders considerably over the coming months.”
The current wait time for a breast screening appointment is approximately twelve months. Beginning this month, the breast screening program will be adding up to 150 additional appointments per week between both sites. Improvements made to the program will reduce this window to a three to four month wait time by the fall. Women with symptoms or in urgent situations, as referred by a physician, have a wait time of less than two weeks.
“Being able to reduce breast screen wait times is also an important component in our efforts to improve the percentage of Island women who get screened each year,” said Jamie MacDonald, Provincial Director of Diagnostic Imaging. “Partnering in the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation’s Tour for the Cure and Canadian Cancer Society’s Get Screened PEI campaigns to promote the importance of getting screened has also assisted in educating and encouraging Islanders to make an appointment today.”
For more information on the provincial breast screening program, please visit: www.gov.pe.ca/go/breastscreening.
For information on the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation’s Tour for the Cure campaign, please visit: www.tourforthecure.ca.
For more information on the Canadian Cancer Society’s Get Screened PEI campaign, please visit: www.getscreenedpei.ca.