Improving the accessibility of breast screening follow up letters

Sunderland People First, a group of self-advocates with learning disabilities and autistic people, and Healthwatch Sunderland have worked in partnership to improve the accessibility of the written information sent to women who are recalled after attending for their breast screening mammogram.

The absence of accessible information for women who are recalled was highlighted to Healthwatch Sunderland by Sharon, a member of Sunderland People First. Sharon told the team that she had received an initial invitation for a mammogram in an easy read format, but then she was recalled to the hospital for further tests and it was not in an easy read format, and she was not able to understand it.

The team highlighted the issue with Public Health England and then worked with NHS England and NHS Improvement, with a fantastic outcome of four different recall letters becoming available for hospital breast services to use all around the country.

Learn more about this fantastic example of partnership working here or by watching the short film below: