The over 65s pilot project investigated how many women aged 65 to 69 would accept an invitation to screening. This followed a call by the Health Select Committee, in 1995, for the screening age to be increased to include women up to the age of 69 in the call and recall system. The pilots were set up in Leeds, Wakefield, Brighton and Nottingham and demonstrated that women in this older age group could be screened effectively and would accept screening invitations. Subsequently, the NHS Cancer Plan announced that the NHS Breast Screening Programme would be extended to women aged 65 to 70 by 2004.
Back to key research in breast screening.
- NHSBSP home page
- Programme publications
- About breast screening
- What is breast screening?
- What does the NHS Breast Screening Programme do?
- When was the NHS Breast Screening Programme set up?
- What happens at a breast screening unit?
- Why are women under 50 not routinely invited?
- Are women screened over the age of 70?
- Screening women at higher risk
- Does breast screening save lives?
- Does breast screening have any risks?
- What is Digital Mammography?
- Research in breast screening
- About breast cancer
- Programme logistics
- Frequently asked questions
- Programme statistics
- Mammography equipment reports
- Programme news index
- Useful links
