BREAST cancer screening is no longer sustainable across five health trusts in Northern Ireland due to staff shortages, health chiefs have warned.
Plans to centralise diagnostic testing for suspected cases have been revealed by the Health and Social Care Board, with a consultation expected in the next year.
The move comes as latest figures show that only a fifth of 'red flag' patients in the Southern Health Trust were seen by a consultant within the 14-day target in April, with one woman waiting 32 days.
Women affected included those who urgently require a mammogram or fine needle biopsy testing after being classed as "urgent" by their GPs.
In June last year, just seven per cent of women with suspected breast cancer in the Southern trust area - which stretches from Kikeel to Dungannon - were seen on time, one of the worst ever performances recorded in the entire NHS.
Board chiefs attribute the crisis to a shortage of radiologists and despite transfers to other trusts, there has been little improvement.
To address the "seriousness" of the issue, the Board held workshop meeting with staff across the sector last year to discuss the north's "breast assessment service, including breast screening".
"There was a clear consensus among workshop attendees that the current configuration of provision across five sites was not sustainable and that consideration needed to be given to providing the service across fewer sites," Michael Bloomfield, a senior Board director said.
"The HSCB and Public Health Agency have established a project board with representation from all the relevant disciplines, trust management and patients to look at the future configuration of the service."
Centralising services, including A&E and stroke provision, has been one of the key recommendations of several expert reports on the north's health sector - including the Bengoa review - with authors warning services are scattered too thinly for a 1.8 million population.
Last year it emerged that 121 women who had delayed referrals in the Belfast trust were later given a positive breast cancer diagnosis.
The Board say the new project group reviewing breast cancer services will report to a group at the Department of Health overseen by the Chief Medical Officer.
"It is anticipated that the recommendations arising from this work will be subject to public consultation during 2017/18," Mr Bloomfield added.
Board chiefs noted that all suspected breast cancer patients who received urgent referrals from their GP in April were seen within the fortnight target in the Belfast, South Eastern and Western trusts.
Almost a third of referrals weren't seen within 14 days at the Northern trust due to staff holidays.
