Breast screening trails in London as access rules tighten
Breast screening coverage in London was 61.6% at 31 March 2024 while the England rate reached 70.0%, and over the same reporting year variation widened to borough level with the lowest local authority figure at 45.8% in Kensington and Chelsea, signalling an equity gap that persists despite programme recovery.
NHS England Digital’s Breast Screening Programme statistics for 2023–24 (published 18 February 2025, covering activity from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024) show all regions improved year on year, yet London remained the lowest; nationally 1.95 million women aged 45 and over were screened, while coverage for the core 53–70 cohort still sat below the 80% achievable threshold.
The access context is shifting: the Accessible Information Standard was updated on 30 June 2025, with NHS England requiring providers to add a sixth “review” step and to strengthen leadership for implementation, changes designed to improve communication support—such as alternative formats, translation and interpretation—so eligible people can navigate invitations and appointments more easily.
Against that policy backdrop, London’s coverage rate and the borough outlier indicate that capacity alone does not close the gap; improvements depend on reducing barriers faced by people who need non-standard communication or language support when booking and attending routine mammography.
Across metrics, the picture blends rates and counts: London 61.6% versus England 70.0% coverage at 31 March 2024, 1.95 million women screened nationally in 2023–24, and a borough minimum of 45.8% in Kensington and Chelsea, while the updated Accessible Information Standard from June–July 2025 formalises review and leadership requirements that aim to raise uptake.
All figures are from NHS England Digital’s “Breast Screening Programme, England, 2023–24” (statistics to 31 March 2024, published 18 February 2025) and NHS England’s Accessible Information Standard guidance updated between 30 June and 7 July 2025.
