NHS launches new ‘ping and book’ telephone service for cervical and breast cancer screening to save lives and money

The NHS will launch a new ‘ping and book’ service for cervical and breast cancer screening in a bid to increase uptake and save more lives and money.

From next month, women using the NHS app on their mobile phone will receive notifications telling them they need to have their mamogram or are overdue.

This will be expanded to include smear tests in spring next year and from early 2026, millions of women will be able to book breast screening appointments via the NHS app.

It is part of plans to fully digitalise the way breast, bowel and cervical screening reminders and appointments are carried out, with the aim of saving the NHS more than £130 million over the next five years.

Under the new rollout, women who do not have the app and women who do not respond to messages will receive an email or text message, followed by a letter by post.

NHS cancer screening programs currently send more than 25 million invitations, reminders and letters of results by post to patients, costing £14.7 million every year, according to NHS England.

Last year, more than 18,000 cases of breast cancer were detected in women across England through screening

Women using the NHS app on their mobile phone will receive notifications telling them they need to have their mamogram or are overdue

Amanda Pritchard, CEO of NHS England, told the annual NHS Providers conference in Liverpool: ‘We are really excited about the potential of technology to revolutionize access to cancer screening for women and ensure that everyone who is eligible receives it. can make the most of these lives. Save services at the touch of a button.

‘Next month we’ll start rolling out a new ‘ping and book’ approach to breast and cervical checks via the NHS app, which will replace the cost of letters and texts with pop-ups on your phone and make it so will make it easy to book appointments.’

Last year, more than 18,942 cases of breast cancer were detected in women across England through screening.

But despite uptake increasing overall last year, figures for 2022/2023 show that more than a third of women (35.4 percent) did not take up the offer of breast screening after an invitation.

A total of 2.18 million eligible women in England have not had a mammogram in the last three years.

Data also shows that as of December last year, around one in three women aged 25 to 49 did not take up the invitation for cervical screening, while just over a quarter of women aged 50 to 64 did so. hasn’t done.

Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting has welcomed the plans, saying it will make the process ‘easier for millions of women’

Michelle Mitchell, CEO of Cancer Research UK, said: ‘Screening programs are effective tools in detecting cancer early, before symptoms start.

‘Innovations like this could make it easier for people to access screening, and ultimately increase the number of cancer cases detected at an early stage.’

Athena Lamnisos, chief executive of women’s health charity Eve Appeal, said: ‘To achieve the ambitious but achievable goal of eradicating cervical cancer, we must encourage everyone who is eligible to take part in the screening programme.

‘Modernizing the invitation system is crucial here: letting people know when the screening should take place and making it easy for them to make an appointment that works for them.’

The move follows the announcement of a new pilot project in Somerset to see if 111 online can refer women with ‘red flag’ symptoms for breast cancer checks without the need to see a GP, as the NHS continues its efforts to improve health of women to improve. .

Claire Rowney, CEO of Breast Cancer Now, said: ‘Breast screening plays a central role in saving more lives from breast cancer.

‘Yet the stark reality is that thousands of women in England go undetected with their breast cancer every year, and the decline in breast screening in recent years is deeply worrying.

‘Therefore, changes to the breast screening program are urgently needed to ensure women’s access now and in the future.’

Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said: ‘If we want to make the NHS fit for the future, we need to detect cancer earlier so we can give people the best possible chance of survival.

‘I hugely welcome the plans to make it easier for millions of women to book a screening by harnessing the power of the NHS app.’