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Found 218 results
  1. Content Article
    NHS England has set a target that cervical cancer will be eliminated in England by 2040. Although progress has been made in detecting and treating cervical cancer, there are still many women who are reluctant to go for cervical screening, or who face barriers to accessing screening. These barriers include perceived discrimination, lack of understanding the risk of cervical cancer and unmet access needs. This contributes to persistent health inequalities amongst particular groups. Patient Safety Learning has pulled together nine useful resources shared on the hub about how to improve access and overcome barriers to cervical screening. 1. Cervical screening, my way: Women's attitudes and solutions to improve uptake of cervical screening This research by Healthwatch explored why some women are hesitant to go for cervical screening. Based on the findings of a survey of more than 2,400 women who were hesitant about screening, it makes recommendations to policymakers on how to improve uptake, including: improvements to the way data about the disability and ethnicity of people attending screening. producing an NHS-branded trauma card for affected women to bring to appointments. ensuring staff are effectively trained on accessibility and adjustments to care. looking at the possibility of home-based self-screening. 2. Exploring the inequalities of women with learning disabilities deciding to attend and then accessing cervical and breast cancer screening, using the Social Ecological Model Women with learning disabilities are less likely to access cervical and breast cancer screening when compared to the general population. In this study, the Social Ecological Model (SEM) was used to examine the inequalities faced by women with learning disabilities in accessing cervical and breast cancer screening in England. The study highlights key barriers to access for women with learning disabilities. 3. “We’re not taken seriously”: Describing the experiences of perceived discrimination in medical settings for Black women Black women continue to experience disparities in cervical cancer despite targeted efforts. One potential factor affecting screening and prevention is discrimination in medical settings. This US study in the Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities describes experiences of perceived discrimination in medical settings for Black women and explores the impact of this on cervical cancer screening and prevention. The authors suggest that future interventions should address the poor quality of medical encounters that Black women experience. 4. Top tips for healthcare professionals: Cervical screenings This article by the Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists and the My Body Back Project offers tips for healthcare professionals to make cervical cancer screening attendees feel as comfortable as possible during their appointments. Cervical screening can be very daunting for some women, and for those who have experienced sexual violence it can be triggering and cause emotional distress. The article provides tips on communication, making the environment calm and safe, sharing control and building trust with women. 5. The Eve Appeal: What adjustments can you ask for at your cervical screening? The Eve Appeal want to raise awareness of what adaptations women and people with a cervix can ask for during their screening to make the appointment more comfortable. 6. How can reframing women’s health improve outcomes? An interview with Dr Marieke Bigg Dr Marieke Bigg is the author of a 2023 book, This won’t hurt: How medicine fails women. In this interview, Marieke discusses how societal ideas about the female body have restricted the healthcare system’s approach to women’s health and describes the impact this has had on health outcomes. She also highlights areas where the health system is reframing its approach by listening to the needs of women and describes how simple changes, such as allowing women to carry out their own cervical screening at home, can make a big difference. 7. Having a smear test. What is it about? This download A4 Easy Read booklet from Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust uses simple language and pictures to talk about smear tests. It explains what a smear test is, has tips for the person having the test and has a list of words they might hear at their appointment. 8. Health Improvement Scotland: Cervical screening standards Published by Healthcare Improvement Scotland in March, the new cervical screening standards include recommendations to ensure women receive accessible letters and information about screening and healthcare professionals are trained to support women to make informed choices. 9. Cervical cancer screening in women with physical disabilities This US study explored how the cervical cancer screening experiences of women with physical disabilities (WWPD) can be improved. Interviews with WWPD indicated that access to self-sampling options would be more comfortable for cervical cancer screening participation. The authors highlight that these findings that can inform the promotion of self-sampling devices for cervical cancer screening. Have your say Are you a healthcare professional who works in women’s health or cancer services? We would love to hear your insights and share resources you have developed. Perhaps you have an experience of cervical screening or cervical cancer that you would like to share? We would love to hear from you! Comment below (register as a hub member for free first) Get in touch with us directly to share your insights
  2. News Article
    Invitations for cervical screening will be sent out every five years instead of every three for women aged 25-49 in England, if they have a negative test. Research shows they are at very low risk of cervical cancer and can safely wait longer to be screened again, NHS England has said. The roll out of a vaccine to protect against HPV - the virus which causes nearly all cervical cancers - has reduced cases by around a quarter since the early 1990s. Charities said the change was good news for those at low risk because they no longer needed to go for screening as often. Scotland and Wales have already introduced this change, which will start in England from 1 July. Cancer Research UK urged women and people with a cervix not to wait for a screening invitation if they noticed any unusual changes. They are encouraged to go for regular cervical screening between the ages of 25 and 64, external. Read full story Source: BBC News, 10 June 2025 Further reading on the hub: Top picks: Seven resources about improving access to cervical screening
  3. News Article
    Appointment reminders, invitations to health screenings and test results will now be received by patients on their phones. The government says moving to a more digital-focused NHS will mean 50 million fewer letters need to be sent out by the health service, saving an estimated £200m over the next three years. Instead, under the new plans, millions of people will be notified about appointments and other important notices via the NHS app on their phone or digital device. The app is set to become the go-to method for the NHS to communicate with people, the Department of Health and Social Care said. The changes will be backed by more than £50m investment. It will see a predicted 270 million messages sent through the app this year, an increase of around 70 million on the last financial year, the government announced. The health secretary said: "The fact that people still get letters through the front door, sometimes multiple letters about the same appointment... The NHS has been stuck in the mud when it comes to the everyday technology we use to organise our lives. And that's why what we're doing with the NHS app is really exciting." Read full story Source: The Guardian, 7 June 2025
  4. News Article
    People with cancer face a “ticking timebomb” of delays in getting diagnosed and treated because the NHS is too short-staffed to provide prompt care, senior doctors have warned. An NHS-wide shortage of radiologists and oncologists means patients are enduring long waits to have surgery, chemotherapy or radiotherapy and have a consultant review their care. Hold-ups lead to some people’s cancer spreading, which can reduce the chances of their treatment working and increase the risk of death, the Royal College of Radiologists (RCR) said. NHS cancer services are struggling to keep up with rising demand for tests, such as scans and X-rays, and treatment, created by the growing number of people getting the disease. All radiology bosses surveyed said during 2024 their units could not scan all patients within the NHS’s maximum waiting times because they did not have enough staff. “Delays in cancer diagnosis and treatment will inevitably mean that for some patients their cancer will progress while they wait, making successful treatment more difficult and risking their survival,” said Dr Katharine Halliday, the RCR’s president. The findings are particularly worrying because research has found that a patient’s risk of death can increase by about 10% for each month they have to wait for treatment. Nine out of 10 cancer centre chiefs said patients were delayed starting their treatment last year while seven in 10 said they feared workforce gaps were putting patients’ safety at risk. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 5 June 2025
  5. News Article
    The NHS handed private firms a record £216m last year to examine X-rays and scans because hospitals have too few radiologists. The amount of money NHS organisations across the UK are paying companies to interpret scans has doubled in five years as demand rises for diagnostic tests. Despite the growth in privatisation, the NHS in England failed to read 976,000 X-rays and CT and MRI scan results within its one-month target – the highest number ever. Scans play a crucial role in telling doctors if a patient has cancer or a broken bone, for example. The Royal College of Radiologists (RCR), which collated the figures from doctors across the UK, said the £216m given to private firms in 2024 was “a false economy” which it blamed on the NHS’s failure to recruit enough specialists to read all the scans patients have in its hospitals. The college said the growing outsourcing of scan analysis risked creating “a vicious cycle” in which NHS radiology services were increasingly weakened and its doctors drawn to private work. Dr Katharine Halliday, the RCR’s president, said: “The current sticking plaster approach to managing excess demand in radiology is unsustainable and certainly isn’t working for patients, who face agonising waits for answers about their health. “It is a false economy to be spending over £200m of NHS funds outsourcing radiology work to private companies, and evidence of our failure to train and retain the amount of NHS radiologists we need.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 15 May 2025
  6. News Article
    Male health workers should be allowed to perform breast screening examinations to help relieve staff shortages, say experts. X-rays called mammograms are offered to women between the age of 50 and 71 every three years to check for signs of cancer, but can currently only be performed by female staff. The Society of Radiographers (SoR) has called for a change in policy due to "critical" staff shortages among radiographers who specialise in this area. Sally Reed, 67, who had two mastectomies after mammograms revealed breast cancer, told the BBC that "if something can save your life you should go for it" - whether it's administered by a woman or man. But Sally also admits women who already don't want to go for breast screening "would definitely be turned off by a man". According to radiographers, the vacancy rate among mammographers who specialise in breast exams is 17.5%. Changes to staffing were being discussed at the annual SoR conference, with discussions also taking place over whether transgender men should be included in the NHS breast screening programme. Read full story Source: BBC News, 29 April 2025
  7. News Article
    The distressing testimonies of women with sight loss have influenced new guidelines designed to make cervical screening more accessible. The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) Scotland says the more than 100,000 blind and partially sighted women in Scotland face a range of barriers in accessing cervical screening. Some women have described their experience as “rough” and “painful”, telling the charity that they feel uninformed and unsupported throughout. Kirin from Edinburgh is registered blind. Reflecting on her experience attending a cervical screening appointment, she said: “I only went once, and it went disastrously wrong. It was very painful. I didn’t know what was going to happen, or when it was going to happen. “I have not and will not go back. “The nurse took no time to explain what was going to happen; or what the procedure entailed. Having to position myself on the table with no sight was incredibly difficult.” Another woman described how distressing the process can be when communication and care are lacking: “I had my tests conducted by a nurse who was rude and rough.” “I was told not to be stupid, and that I was behaving like a child. “The nurse did not explain to me what they were doing, and this was unpleasant enough that I haven’t gone back to have another screening.” Read full story Source: Health and Care Scotland, 16 April 2025
  8. Content Article
    Published by Healthcare Improvement Scotland in March, the new cervical screening standards include recommendations to ensure women receive accessible letters and information about screening and healthcare professionals are trained to support women to make informed choices. To support women to make informed decisions about cervical screening, information should be provided in a format and language that suits their needs. Support should be provided to enable informed decisions with opportunities for questions. Care should be compassionate, trauma informed, understanding and non-judgemental. Women should always be respected and supported in their choices and decisions. Further reading on the hub Top picks: Seven resources about improving access to cervical screening
  9. News Article
    Young professionals are giving up on the NHS and going private for cancer checks and diagnostic scans, new data shows. A record one million people received health tests and scans privately last year, as the public grew increasingly disillusioned with long and stressful waits for GP appointments and checks. The report by the Independent Healthcare Provider Network (IHPN) found that demand for private health tests has soared among working-age professionals in their twenties, thirties and forties. Experts said this reflects a desire to get “peace of mind” for worrying symptoms quickly and on demand. Adults are placing a premium on being able to book appointments at a convenient time and location, often opting for private clinics near their workplace so they can pop out during lunch breaks. David Hare, the chief executive of IHPN, said: “This latest research from IHPN shows that going private for vital scans and tests is becoming increasingly normalised, with speedy access to appointments and the ability to receive results often within 48 hours a key attraction for patients looking for much-needed peace of mind and value for money. “This is particularly the case for younger people, who are accustomed to high quality, convenient and personalised services in many other aspects of their lives, and hugely benefit from the increasing number of private diagnostics services available near their homes and workplaces.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Times, 14 April 2025
  10. News Article
    More than 1,000 CT scans carried out in Scotland have been reviewed after concerns were raised about the work of one consultant radiologist, BBC Scotland News has learned. The medic was responsible for interpreting the detailed images of internal body parts and identifying health issues like cancer. The scans were carried out at hospitals around the country and assessed by one of a central pool of experts working for the Scottish National Radiology Reporting Service (SNRRS) between April 2022 and July 2024. It is understood that the review found that about 10 patients had potentially been affected. The SNRRS said the patients would be contacted by their local NHS board to discuss further action. They added that the consultant radiologist at the centre of review no longer works for the SNRRS. It is understood that information about the review has been provided to the health board where the radiologist normally works. Read full story Source: BBC News, 9 December 2024
  11. News Article
    The family of a mother who died from cervical cancer after twice being wrongly told she had negative results have been awarded undisclosed damages. The misreporting of Louise Gleadell's cervical screening results was admitted by University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust following her death aged 38 in March 2018. An internal review in 2017 found the samples, taken four years apart, were not good enough to produce reliable results but neither Ms Gleadell - a mum to three boys - nor her relatives were told about the "inadequate" samples while she was still alive. Her family have now been given an undisclosed payout, with the trust apologising for its mistakes that had "devastating consequences". Ms Gleadell, from Cossington in Leicestershire, was diagnosed with cervical cancer two years prior to her death. It was, by that stage, too late to have surgery. Two cervical screening tests, carried out in 2008 and 2012, were misreported to her as negative. It meant that over a four-year period, she had been given false reassurance about her health when she was developing cervical cancer, and the opportunity to treat pre-cancerous cells passed. Ms Gleadell's sisters, Laura and Clare Gleadell, say their grief has been compounded by knowing that their sister's death was avoidable. Laura, 43, said: "Her death was preventable and that for us is ultimately really hard. "It would not have developed into cancer had she been recalled in either 2008 or 2012. "If she had had treatment for cell abnormalities before it even developed into cancer, she would not have died." Read full story Source: BBC News, 6 April 2025
  12. News Article
    A report from the Northern Ireland Audit Office has found that 16% of imaging equipment used in healthcare settings is “effectively obsolete”. Comptroller and Auditor General Dorinnia Carville has raised concerns over the “substantial proportion of out-of-date equipment” and a growing gap between demand and capacity. Northern Ireland’s Department of Health said that while some of the equipment base “would ideally be replaced at a quicker rate”, it remains “safe and fit for purpose”. The report noted that around 90% of all hospital patients have images taken and interpreted. It said that increasing recognition of the benefits of imaging services has resulted in a “growing demand for them”. The report added: “Combined with changing patient demographics, and an absence of sustainable funding and resources, capacity has been unable to keep pace.” The report found that between 2018 and 2024, the health service delivered a total of 350,000 fewer scans (MRI, CT, and non-obstetric ultrasound scans) than what was required to meet demand. Similarly, waiting lists and waiting times for imaging services have risen in that period. The report said that timely replacement of imaging equipment is one of the “key components to service delivery and quality”. It said: “Currently 16% of all HSC imaging equipment is over 10 years old and is effectively obsolete. Older equipment can result in increased downtime and maintenance costs. It can also be potentially slower, reducing the number of patients which can be scanned, and may produce lower quality images meaning an increased risk of missed disease.” Read full story Source: Medscape, 31 March 2025
  13. News Article
    Artificial intelligence is being hailed as a potential game-changer in prenatal care, cutting down the time it takes to identify fetal abnormalities by almost half, according to a groundbreaking new study. Researchers at King’s College London and Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust found as well as being faster, AI is just as accurate as traditional methods, offering the potential to revolutionise the 20-week scan. The technology, tested in the first trial of its kind, could significantly reduce scan times, easing anxiety for expectant parents and freeing up sonographers to focus on potential problem areas. The AI also proved more reliable than human sonographers in taking crucial measurements. This improved accuracy offers the potential for earlier detection of potential issues, allowing medical professionals to intervene sooner if required. The AI tool was also found to alter the way in which the scan is performed, as sonographers no longer needed to pause, save images or measure during the scan. Read full story Source: The Independent, 27 March 2025
  14. News Article
    Cancer caused by the common human papillomavirus infection, also known as HPV, is increasing in some women in the U.S., researchers said this month. They found that rates of cervical cancer — which is one of the most preventable cancers and largely caused by HPV infection — have been rising among women in their 30s and 40s: many of whom weren’t eligible for HPV vaccines when they were first released in 2006. Approximately 42.5 million Americans are infected with HPV and there are at least 13 million new infections reported each year. The vaccines, which protect individuals from getting several cancers associated with different strains of America’s most common sexually transmitted infection, were originally only recommended for girls and women between the ages of nine and 26. Since then, eligibility has expanded to include individuals between the ages of 27 and 45. It is now recommended for routine vaccination starting at age 11 or 12. Although vaccination has proven to be both safe and effective, vaccine hesitancy and resistance has persisted. In recent years, it has been tied to social media. A December study from USC found that Americans are under-vaccinated for HPV, with 7% of eligible adults completing the full course. Screening is also an issue tied to the American Cancer Society study’s findings, with the percentage of women falling from 47% in 2019 to 41% in 2023. Women between the ages of 21 and 29 are the least likely to be up to date with their screenings, previous research found. Read full story Source: The Independent, 25 March 2025
  15. News Article
    Repeated failings in the way scans are read are leading to delays in cancer diagnosis, unnecessary operations and avoidable deaths, England’s Health Ombudsman has warned. Since publishing a report four years ago which highlighted mistakes in the way digital images are read and used as a diagnostic tool, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) has upheld or partly upheld more than 40 cases in which similar failings were found. The most common issues are doctors failing to identify an abnormality, scans not being carried out or delayed, and results not being properly followed up. Examples of the impact of these failings include a 10-month delay in cancer being diagnosed which significantly harmed the person’s chance of survival. In another case, serious pelvic sepsis was not identified which led to an avoidable death, and in a separate case, a missed ankle fracture led to an avoidable operation. The Ombudsman is calling for greater learning when things have gone wrong to prevent the same mistake being made. Read full story Source: PHSO, 20 March 2025
  16. News Article
    Ten people have died from cancer and up to 10 more have been diagnosed with the disease after a blunder meant they were not invited to NHS screening programmes. Health officials failed to invite more than 5,000 patients in total for routine checks after an IT error affected bowel, breast and cervical cancer screening programmes, as well as abdominal aortic aneurysm screening. In a written ministerial statement on Tuesday, health minister Ashley Dalton said that NHS England had written to those affected this week. The letters were sent to patients who are still eligible for a screening programme, or who were previously eligible for a programme but now exceed its upper age limit. NHS England has also set up a helpline. The mistake occurred when the GP registration process of the patients was “not completed correctly, meaning their details were not passed to NHS screening system”, Dalton said. “Records indicate that up to 10 patients have been diagnosed with a relevant cancer and were not invited for certain screening,” she added. “The impact on these patients is not yet known and a clinical harm assessment process will be undertaken, based on expert clinical advice. “It is with deep sadness that I must report that records also indicate that around 10 people who were not invited for screening may have died from a relevant cancer.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 11 March 2025
  17. News Article
    Women in England will be encouraged to attend potentially life-saving screenings for breast cancer in TV, radio and online adverts as part of the first NHS awareness campaign for the disease. Women in the UK are invited for their first routine mammogram between the ages of 50 and 53, with further invitations arriving every three years until they reach 71, after which they can request screening. It is estimated that the programme – which is aimed at people without symptoms – prevents 1,300 deaths each year in the UK, and figures suggest it picked up cancers in 18,942 women across England last year alone. Without screening, the NHS says, such cancers may not have been diagnosed or treated until a later stage. While breast screening levels in England are rising, they remain lower than before the pandemic, with data from NHS England released in October revealing uptake was 64.6% in 2022-23, compared with 71.1% in 2018-19. Among those invited for the first time, the most recent figure was just 53.7%. Now NHS England is attempting to increase attendance through a campaign supported by charities including Breast Cancer Now and Cancer Research UK, with celebrities, TV doctors, NHS staff and cancer survivors sharing open letters to women. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 17 February 2025
  18. Content Article
    Prioritising patient safety is a new quarterly blog series from the Parliamentary Health and Service Ombudsman (PHSO). Each month, PHSO publishes between 70 to 100 of their casework decisions as a way to share learning that will help organisations improve their service and prevent mistakes happening again. Through these blog, Tony Dysart, Senior Lead Clinician, will be highlighting some of the cases PHSO publish to share good practice and findings from the casework more widely. This first blog focuses on two cases PHSO have looked into about maternity care and imaging. 
  19. News Article
    A hospital’s failure to diagnose a woman’s cancer denied her precious time with her family, England’s Health Ombudsman has found. The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) is urging hospitals to improve processes to avoid delays in diagnosis. A woman underwent a CT scan at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust towards the end of November 2017 to investigate a potential liver problem. While nothing significant was found on her liver, the scan revealed a nodule – a small dense area - and a possible pulmonary embolism on her left lung. In December, the woman was referred to a clinic to treat the pulmonary embolism. The consultant at the clinic wrote to her GP asking she be referred for another CT scan three months later to investigate the nodule. This was not done and a review in mid-April 2018 revealed the follow-up scan had not been carried out. An urgent CT scan towards the end of May 2018 revealed the woman had lung cancer, of which she died aged 81 in February 2019. The Ombudsman found the woman should have been diagnosed with lung cancer in December 2017, around six months earlier. The Trust should not have passed the matter back to the woman’s GP and did not appropriately follow up the lung nodule’s finding. Though PHSO cannot say exactly what would have happened, there is evidence the woman may have lived longer if the diagnosis had been made sooner. Read full story Source: PHSO, 6 February 2025
  20. News Article
    Health secretary Wes Streeting has announced a landmark trial that will harness artificial intelligence to help catch breast cancer cases earlier, potentially helping the tens of thousands of women diagnosed with the disease each year. Nearly 700,000 women through 30 testing sites around the country will take part in the trial, which will use AI to assist radiologists in mammogram screening to identify changes in breast tissue which could be a possible sign of breast cancer. At the moment mammograms require the expertise of two radiologists, but the Department of Health and Social Care said the AI technology will mean only one specialist will be needed to conduct the screening process safely and efficiently. If successful the trial could free up radiologists and other specialists to conduct more testing which could help reduce waiting lists. Read full story Source: The Independent, 4 February 2025
  21. Content Article
    This US study explored how the cervical cancer screening experiences of women with physical disabilities (WWPD) can be improved. Interviews with WWPD indicated that access to self-sampling options would be more comfortable for cervical cancer screening participation. The authors highlight that these findings that can inform the promotion of self-sampling devices for cervical cancer screening.
  22. News Article
    A knowledge gap around cervical screenings is currently "costing lives", a cancer charity says. The Eve Appeal says more women need to know they can ask for adjustments to their cervical screenings, which can be painful, uncomfortable or distressing for some. The test is thought to save about 5,000 lives every year in the UK, but many women do not get tested. Research commissioned by the charity suggests most women do not know they can make the test easier by asking for longer appointments, smaller speculums, or move to more comfortable positions. According to latest NHS England data, more than five million eligible women are not up to date , external with their routine screening, with the lowest uptake being among women aged between 25 and 29 (58%). Eve Appeal chief executive Athena Lamnisos said this was "worrying" and that any barriers people experience around the screenings could be "easily overcome". "There are really simple, straightforward things that you can ask for that patients just aren't aware of....basically, you can take control." Read full story Source: BBC News, 20 January 2025 Further reading on the hub: Top picks: Six resources about improving access to cervical screening
  23. Content Article
    For Cervical Cancer Prevention Week, the Eve Appeal want to raise awareness of what adaptations women and people with a cervix can ask for during their screening to make the appointment more comfortable. See also our Top picks: Six resources about improving access to cervical screening
  24. News Article
    A charity has met with the Health Secretary to argue that more checks are needed in infancy to find a serious condition that can cause brain damage. Hydrocephalus is caused by excess spinal fluid or some call it "water on the brain". Founder of Hampshire-based charity Harry's Hat, Caroline, said: "About one-in-770 babies get hydrocephalus. That is as common as Down's syndrome." Health practitioners in England and Wales are currently expected to measure a baby's head shortly after birth and then six-to-eight weeks later to see if a baby's head is too big. Read full story Source: BBC online, 13 January 2025
  25. News Article
    The use of artificial intelligence in breast cancer screening increases the chance of the disease being detected, researchers have found, in what they say is the first real-world test of the approach. Numerous studies have suggested AI could help medical professionals spot cancer, whether it is identifying abnormal growths in CT scans or signs of breast cancer in mammograms. However, many studies are retrospective – meaning AI is not involved at the outset – while trials taking the opposite approach often have small sample sizes. Important, larger studies do not necessarily reflect real-world use. Now researchers say they have tested AI in a nationwide screening programme for the first time, revealing it offers benefits in a real-world setting. Prof Alexander Katalinic, a co-author of the study from the University of Lübeck in Germany, said: “We could improve the detection rate without increasing the harm for the women taking part in breast cancer screening,” adding the approach could also reduce the workload of radiologists. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 7 September 2025
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