Breast screening uptake in mid Essex remains below pre-pandemic levels, new figures show.

Woman between the ages of 50 and 71 are invited for NHS breast screening every three years.

NHS figures show 15,375 of the 24,790 women invited for a screening in the former NHS Mid Essex area had a test in the year to March this year.

It meant uptake of the screening stood at 62 per cent – up from 61 per cent the year before, but below pre-pandemic levels of 75 per cent in 2019-20.

Just over 13,700 of the 22,875 women invited for a screening in the former NHS North East Essex area had a test over the same period - an increase from 58 per cent the previous year to 60 per cent, but below pre-pandemic levels of 72 per cent.

Uptake across England increased to 65 per cent last year from 63 per cent in 2021-22 - well below pre-pandemic levels of 70 per cent.

Melanie Sturtevant, of Breast Cancer Now, said: "It’s deeply worrying that breast screening uptake remains well below the minimum 70 per cent target as it plays a vital role in saving lives from breast cancer.

"While small improvements have been made in the percentage of women taking up their breast screening invite, this data makes clear that uptake has barely risen above the record low levels seen during Covid-19."

An NHS spokesman said despite a fall in the number of women responding to invitations the breast screening programme has eliminated the Covid backlog.

They said: "The NHS is sending out more breast screening invitations than ever before, so anyone who has received an invitation should make an appointment – it could save your life."

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman added: "It is vital to detect cancer as early as possible, and more than two million eligible women received breast cancer scans last year, up significantly on the previous two years.

"NHS breast cancer screening has been recovering since the height of the pandemic, and earlier this year we invested a further £10 million for 29 new breast screening units, and over 60 life-saving upgrades to services in the areas where they are most needed."