BreastCheck, the national breast screening programme, is set to relocate its mobile screening facility from Clare to Co Mayo.
June Dillon, Aontú Clare Representative, has been contacted by a number of women in Clare who received letters from BreastCheck to arrange a mammogram, at locations in Galway, Limerick or Nenagh as the mobile unit in Clare will no longer be an option from October 30th.
Ms. Dillon contacted BreastCheck to clarify the concerns, and they confirmed that the Ennis mobile unit is now moving to Ballina, Co Mayo to service the population there, after being in Ennis for a number of years.
The Galway BreastCheck office arranges appointments for women in Clare and the Ennis mobile unit was under the remit of the Galway office. BreastCheck Galway said they can offer mammogram appointments going forward for Galway or Nenagh, and if a woman wishes to attend Limerick they will be transferred to the Cork office to arrange appointments for the Limerick site.
There are four regional BreastCheck centres in Ireland; 2 in Dublin, 1 in Cork and 1 in Galway with 24 Breast Check Mobile units operating in 54 locations. Breast Check said that a mobile unit can stay in a location anywhere from three months to two years, and then move to other locations.
Ms Dillon says it is a real pity that the BreastCheck mobile unit is leaving the county, having been based at the car park of the Clare County Council offices in Ennis.
“I really hope that the change in location of BreastCheck screening to other counties will not impact on the number of women in Co. Clare taking up the service. Some people may not have the means to get to the locations in Galway, Limerick or Nenagh which may prohibit women from accessing this essential service.”
“It seems there was no information in the public domain that this move was imminent, as the women who received their letters could not find any articles in the mainstream media or social media in relation to this change. The fact that no warning was given was unsettling for those who were expecting an appointment in Ennis.”
“Once again the people of Clare have been left in the dark until things have already been decided by those in authority. Co. Clare needs investment and development, because of the number of people living in a wide, rural geographic area.
However we seem to fall through the cracks because we have Galway on one side and Limerick on the other. Let’s hope that the woman in Loop Head or North Clare who has to travel to her mammogram appointment in another county, will have the ability to get there. Or will her postcode be a deciding factor in her future health outcomes?