The official charity for Newcastle Hospitals, has reported that three of its mobile breast screenings units has seen over a third of women in the North East in the last three years – following the charity’s £860k investment.
Newcastle Hospitals Charity (NHC), which helps to improve the overall experience of the hospital community in the city – invested in three new units in 2022, giving women across the region, eligible for screenings, to attend appointments they couldn’t previously.
In that time, the units have screened over 78,800 women – 17% of the female population from across the North East and Northumberland. Each unit is equipped with a built-in moving platform to make it more accessible for clients, as well as being hybrid-powered to offer greater flexibility on its location – with 92% of clients rating their experience 10 out of 10.
The units have also brought operational benefits for the NHS, helping to save over 4,000 hours in courier time and 32,000 sheets of paper operating as a ‘paperlite’ clinic – the units also allow radiographers to access images within 20 minutes, meaning that units can run more smoothly.
Teri Bayliss, Charity Director for Newcastle Hospitals Charity said:
“We’re delighted to see the impact that the mobile screening units have had for women in the North East – allowing them to be seen quickly and safely in locations where it wasn’t previously wasn’t possible.
“Our aim is investing and improving the patient experience, whether that’s in our hospitals or closer to the people we look after – we hope that these units continue to be a vital resource for our communities and ensure women who are invited to a screening feel comfortable in doing so.”
