To ask the Minister of Health to detail the (i) target waiting times; and (ii) current average waiting times for breast screening services, broken down by Health and Social Care Trust.

The Public Health Agency (PHA) advise that data on the waiting times for breast screening services is not collected.

For screening mammography, PHA measures the round length, which is the proportion of eligible women, whose date of first offered appointment is less than, or equal to 36 months, from their previous episode. The acceptable standard is greater than, or equal, to 90.0%.

The most recently available NI data for the round length, is from Quarter 3 of 2024/25:

*While PHA has provided quarterly figures as the latest figures available, official reporting is on an annual basis. The most recent annual report is for 2023/24.

For screening assessment following abnormal findings on a screening mammogram, the standard measured is the proportion of women referred for assessment whose date of first offered appointment at an assessment centre is less than or equal to 3 weeks (less than or equal to 21 calendar days) from attendance for the screening mammogram. The acceptable standard is greater than or equal to 95%.

The most recently available NI data for screening assessment is from Quarter 3 of 2024/25: