FALKLAND ISLANDS GOVERNMENT
PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT
15 March 2021
Mammography in the Falkland Islands
In 2010, the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital saw the first mammography screening programme carried out in the Falkland Islands for women aged 47 – 74. Until now, this involved leasing and transporting equipment to the Islands, as well as securing a team of visiting mammographers, a radiologist, applications specialist and an engineer.
However, in 2018 budgetary support for the development of a new mammography suite was agreed and, despite the global pandemic, both the building and installation of the equipment has been completed and is ready for use. A mammographer has arrived in the Islands and, now her quarantine period is over, will be carrying out a limited service for symptomatic patients and those requiring follow-up scans. KEMH hope to carry out a full screening service later in the year.
Chief Medical Officer, Dr Rebecca Edwards, said: “This is a huge milestone for the Islands and we are thrilled that the equipment is now ready for use. It is our aim is to provide a full screening programme as soon as we can bring a team down, but we are so grateful to have a mammographer here at the moment to meet with our patients who require this service now. KEMH will be in touch with those ladies shortly, but I do encourage anyone who has concerns or suspected symptoms, to contact the hospital for an assessment.”
Chair of the Legislative Assembly and portfolio lead for Health, MLA Ian Hansen, added: “I would like to thank the entire hospital team for working so hard on this project. Yet again we have proven that, despite the difficulties we have faced due to Covid-19, our community is a resourceful and hardworking one. As stated in The Islands Plan, we want to maintain and develop standards of medical and dental healthcare, and this equipment is just the start of that. I echo Dr Edwards’ words in encouraging anyone who has concerns or symptoms to contact the hospital for further advice and support.”
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ENDS