NEW DIGITAL mobile breast screening units are being used in Colchester.
More than £800,000 has been invested into buying the three units for the NHS Breast Screening Programme and the first went into service at Colchester General Hospital on Thursday.
It will screen women from Colchester until the new year when it will move to a new location.
The second unit will be stationed at Blackwater Leisure Centre, Maldon, from August 17 and the third will be used from September at another location not yet announced.
They replace two older units and each has a waiting room, three changing rooms, and an x-ray room.
Monica Dale, Superintendent Radiographer, said: “Previously, we had a total of three x-ray machines on two units so having three new units with a machine on each gives us more flexibility in delivering the service.
“Having digital machines means we can also screen 60 women a day instead of 45. Digital images can be viewed on computer screens and forwarded on at the push of a button, so it is more efficient than traditional film x-rays.
“Women having mammograms on a digital machine will notice very little difference in the examination but for staff, each examination not only takes less time but involves less effort too. We will also completely do away with film and chemistry.”