Breastcheck says it will consider ‘alternative’ sites for its service



Breastcheck says it’s not withdrawing any services from county Sligo and that it’s happy to consider new proposed sites for a Sligo town service.

The national screening provider has come in for criticism in recent days after it emerged it was no longer operating out of the Carraroe Retail Park in Sligo town and women were being referred to Tubbercurry instead.

In a statement this afternoon, a spokesperson for Breastcheck said the decision to move its mobile unit from the Carraroe Retail Park recently was out of its control.

The women who were normally seen there in the past were invited to have their mammograms done in Tubbercurry instead.

However, many people in the Sligo Town area are very unhappy at having to travel that far to avail of the service.

Breastcheck says as soon as the problems with the Carraroe site came to their attention they started looking for a new premises and the Teeling Centre in Collooney was deemed the most suitable.

The location in Collooney is just 10 minutes from Sligo town and is easily accessible by car and public transport.

Breastcheck has confirmed today that it has received suggestions for proposed alternative sites which it will consider.

However, it says that finding a suitable location for its service can be challenging mainly due to space and access issues.

It’s reassuring women in Sligo that Breastcheck is not withdrawing any services from the county.

Full statement from Breastcheck:

BreastCheck Statement

11th April 2018

BreastCheck makes considerable efforts to source suitable sites for our mobile units in order to
guarantee that locations meet the highest standards for all eligible women.

We always welcome any offers of support in relation to the identification of appropriate sites.
BreastCheck has recently been offered the use of proposed sites, from a number of sources, to
accommodate the mobile unit in Sligo town and is currently following up on each offer of support to
determine suitability.

Currently, BreastCheck is providing breast screening to women in Co. Sligo. We have a mobile unit in
operation in Tubbercurry to screen women living in the north of the county and we were due to
move to a second location to screen women living in Sligo town and the south of the county.
However, this second location was no longer made available to BreastCheck for reasons beyond our
control. As soon as this was communicated to BreastCheck, we began looking for an alternative
location and within a week, a suitable site was secured at the Teeling Centre in Collooney. This
location is situated only a few minutes by car or public transport from the previous location and
meets all criteria for BreastCheck mobile units. This includes ample space, parking, accessibility and
proximity to public transport; there is a public bus running every 20 minutes from Sligo town to
Collooney.

Before commissioning a location, we conduct a comprehensive assessment of site suitability.
Securing locations for BreastCheck mobile units is challenging and there are many operational
requirements to consider. Suitable alternatives in Sligo town itself have not been identified by
BreastCheck, mainly due to space and access issues, and we had made the decision that the Teeling
Centre met all requirements. We expect this unit to be operational in approximately 6-7 weeks and
it will serve women not only living in the Sligo town area, but also in south Co. Sligo. Meeting the
health needs of eligible women is an absolute priority for the programme and delivering a timely
service is paramount to ensure we achieve this. To this end, we invited women due to be screened
to our Tubbercurry unit, until our Collooney unit is operational.

 

In relation to contact with Sligo County Council, BreastCheck has always been open to engagement
with the Council to discuss mobile unit locations. Assistance was not requested on this occasion as a
deemed suitable site was located within a short timeframe, as outlined above. However we always
welcome the support of Sligo County Council in assisting BreastCheck in the event of any difficulty
sourcing a site and are keen to progress this.

BreastCheck would be delighted to consider any alternative suitable locations proposed by Sligo
County Council which do not result in any delay on women’s appointments. We are always keen to
receive feedback from clients and other local stakeholders on site suitability, as well as any
suggested changes to the location of mobile units.

We want to reassure women that BreastCheck is not withdrawing any services in Sligo and will
continue to invite women who are due their mammograms as close as possible to their area of
residence.

We will continue to work with Sligo County Council and other partners to ensure we can expedite
the provision of suitable sites within Sligo Town.

-ENDS



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