A MOBILE breast cancer screening unit has opened in a bid to boost the number of women being checked.

The brand new state-of-the-art mobile unit has been unveiled by the East Lancashire Breast Screening Service to continue the fight against cancer.

The facility features a larger waiting room, two screening rooms fitted with the latest screening technology, four changing cubicles and a private interview area.

It comes as NHS England figures showed 22,581 women in East Lancashire invited for potentially life-saving breast cancer screening failed to attend their appointments between 2013 and 2016.

Elizabeth Read, breast imaging manager at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, (ELHT) said: “Our old mobile unit has served us well, but the new one is better and has definite benefits for the women who attend for screening.

“NHS breast screening is free, fast and, thanks to the addition of the mobile unit with the latest equipment and a high level of comfort, more convenient than ever.

Over 75,000 women in East Lancashire aged 50 to 70 are invited for breast screening once every three years, with the choice of being screened on the new mobile unit, or visiting the breast screening service, based at Burnley General Teaching Hospital.

Among its latest innovations the new mobile unit features the latest full field digital mammography equipment which offers enhanced workflow with optimal ergonomics for both staff and women.

In the coming weeks, the new mobile breast screening unit will visit Burnley General Teaching Hospital, the Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital followed by health centres in Rossendale and Accrington.

For more information about screening, visit www.elht.nhs.uk/departments-wards-and-services/breast-screening.htm webpage or call 01282 805301