“Last April I had a breast cancer screening test, which they last did in April 2023. When I saw that I wasn’t scheduled, I called and they told me that a machine was broken and there was still a delay because of Covid. They told me to call in a few months and that’s what I did. Now they told me that if they didn’t have me scheduled before February, I should call in March.”
This is the testimony of a patient (she prefers to remain anonymous) assigned to the health service of the Arnau Hospital in Vilanova which covers a population of approximately 340,000 people, the one with the most problems of delay in terms of screening plan. A question of maximum sensitivity in today’s society after the failures that appeared with erroneous diagnoses in Andalusia.
In this regard, CCOO sources have confirmed that this department is about a year behind in summons, a fact that they attribute mainly to lack of personnel. Thus, they explained that patients who should have been tested in 2024 are currently being summoned, although they recognized that in recent weeks Health has increased resources and that tests will also continue to be carried out at Christmas, whereas previously the program was stopped.
“At the specialized Burjassot center, they put two new technicians in the morning and two in the afternoon who must do 50 tests per day to reduce the waiting list. The regional hospital of Llíria was also empowered to provide reinforcement until the summer. the result quickly,” they said from the union.
For their part, sources from the Ministry of Health stressed that “the instruction that was given by the Ministry is that if a woman who was already due to have a follow-up mammogram has not been scheduled and calls the center to indicate this, she must give her an appointment and not tell her to call back”, so that patients who have not received the appointment in time have the right to demand that they be treated.
Regarding the delay, which they recognized without however quantifying it, they explained that “in April it was integrated into the radiology services of Arnau and the delay was gradually reduced” and that despite this, to improve coverage times, various actions were implemented, such as the strengthening of the Breast Cancer Prevention Units (UPCM) of the specialized center of Burjassot with two new radiology technician positions.
In addition, they added that a new UPCM was created at the Llíria Hospital, inaugurated in November with a radiologist, two radiology technicians and an administrative assistant: “With these measures, the department plans to catch up with coverage as quickly as possible”, they explained from the department led by Marciano Gómez.
However, the Secretary General of the CCOO Health Federation, Yolanda Ferrández, denounced “the lack of agility and management problems of breast cancer screening programs, which delay the detection and treatment of women” and highlighted that “the case of the Arnau Health Department is significant, when there is a delay of a year and many women do not have that time.” Screening programs, they add, are essential for early diagnosis: “This is why we demand that the Health Directorate implements the necessary structural resources, both human and material, in the Public Health teams of all health services in the Valencian Community”.
Participation indicators are falling
The breast cancer screening program covers women aged 45 to 69, and in 2022 the “target population” has been expanded to women up to 74 years old. Trust in the system is essential for them to attend the appointment. During its first full year of management, the PP Executive failed to improve indicators. Provisional data – Health has not yet provided final data for 2024 – indicate rather the opposite, in a year marked by dana, which caused some shutdowns.
In 2024, out of a population likely to enter the screening plan composed of 431,663 women (eligible population), 341,446 were required to participate; 79.10% of the total. This indicator is better than during the previous stage of the PSPV and Health Commitments. However, the most worrying thing comes from the participation rate. That same year, according to this internal report, of the 340,615 women who received valid invitations (those for which there are guarantees of receipt), 223,414 women attended the tests, or only 65.5% of those who received the health letter. This is the lowest participation percentage, even worse than that of the pandemic. The document provides another worrying fact: in health departments like Xàtiva, 40% of the eligible population has been covered, well below the usual thresholds. Health sources confirm to elDiario.es that in the health areas affected by the floods the program was delayed and attribute part of this data to the damage.
In recent years, the Consell del Botánic Sanidad has set very high thresholds to consider the program successful: 90% coverage of invitations and participation above 85%, which has never been the case in any year. Subsequently, expectations were lowered and the target was set at 80 and 70% respectively.
In 2022, the eligible population was 423,470 women. 328,216 invitations were issued (77.5%) and 228,491 women participated, or 70%. In 2023, out of an identical eligible population, 351,659 women participated, or 83% of those who received the communication. In previous years, since 2018, coverage has always been above 320,000 women, except in the year of the Covid pandemic, and participation has been close to 70%. 2021 was the lowest year, with 68% participating in the program. The PP’s first full year in government records an even lower percentage.
Furthermore, according to the report from the Economic and Social Committee, 12,000 fewer mammograms were carried out in 2024 compared to the previous year. Health lowers this figure to 3,000 and attributes it to dana and its impact on health centers, which had to delay the program. More precisely, 3,186 fewer. A drop that Health attributes to the temporary suspension of the program in areas affected by dana, which caused a notable reduction in activity. Thus, the same sources indicate that “in the month of November 2024 alone, in these areas, 4,000 fewer mammograms were carried out compared to the same month of the previous year”.
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