Do it right rather than do it quickly

It is natural that people should wish for immediate implementation of something is vital as cancer screening.

BreastCheck, the national screening programme introduced in 2000 in the Eastern, North-Eastern and Midland regions, has been particularly successful, but it will be 2005 before all women aged between 50 and 64 will be able to avail of free screening for breast cancer.

Last year 76% of those contacted by BreastCheck took up their invitation to have a free chest X-ray. This is above the European average of 70%.