The Mater Misericordia University Hospital

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The Symptomatic Breast Clinic or BreastHealth Unit was established in 2000. It is strategically positioned alongside the Eccles Unit of the National Breast Screening Programme – BreastCheck and builds on the existing personnel, expertise and facilities of BreastCheck. The two programmes complement each other with BreastCheck providing a free mammographic screening service to asymptomatic women between 50-64 years while BreastHealth provides a comprehensive diagnostic and therapeutic service to women presenting with breast symptoms.

The BreastHealth service has approximately 9000 attendances per year and appromixately 450 breast cancers are diagnosed each year between the BreastCheck and BreastHealth services.

The unit is staffed by a multidisciplinary breast care team including specialist surgeons, radiologists, pathologists, oncologists, radiation oncologists and breast care nurses. By locating this multidisciplinary team in specially designed facilities, the BreastHealth service seeks to advance the quality of care delivered to women who attend the hospital with breast symptoms.

The unit provides a range of clinics especially tailored to the needs of the patients. These include Triple Assessment Clinics where a woman may receive her clinical examination, radiological investigation and, if necessary, tissue sampling on the same day, reducing the delay to diagnosis which many patients found added to their understandable anxieties about their symptoms. Indeed, the entire design of the facility has sought to create a comfortable, non-intimidating environment to minimise the stress experienced by patients attending the unit. The unit also offers dedicated Family History Clinics for women with a strong family history of breast cancer. The unit also recognises the importance of providing integrated medical care and works closely with local General Practitioners to establish guidelines for referral and advice on accessing the different services available in the facility. Quality assurance review is a fundamental aspect of the unit in assessing performance and maintaining high standards.

Patient Information