When was the NHS Breast Screening Programme set up?

The programme was set up by the Department of Health in 1988 in response to the recommendations of a working group, chaired by Professor Sir Patrick Forrest, which had been set up to consider whether or not to implement a population screening programme in the UK. The report Breast Cancer Screening was published in 1986, and became known as The Forrest Report. The NHS Breast Screening Programme was the first of its kind in the world. It began inviting women for screening in 1988 and national coverage was achieved by mid 1990s.

Click here for the latest statistics on the NHS Breast Screening Programme (England) (A separate browser window will open).