ROUTINE breast screening is set to resume in NSW in the coming weeks.
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An announcement was made on Tuesday that BreastScreen NSW will resume its services "on a case-by-case, site-by-site" basis.
When each location can reopen will be determined based on the level of risk and operational considerations in the COVID-19 pandemic, BreastScreen director Sarah McGill said.
The suspension of routine breast screening became a hot topic in the Bathurst community, with councillor Alex Christian leading the outrage.
He ended up lodging a notice of motion to last week's council meeting, requesting that council "write a letter to the Minister for Health requesting this reckless decision be overturned immediately".
Council agreed to write the letter, with mayor Ian North saying he would hand it to Member for Bathurst Paul Toole the following day when the two were scheduled to meet.
The decision to write the letter was not unanimous, and it followed a heated debate in the chamber.
Deputy mayor Monica Morse voted against the letter and, during her address, noted that there were still services available to people who had, or could have, breast cancer.
"If a woman has a problem that she knows exists, she can still go to her GP, she can still go and get a mammogram through the normal processes. Nothing has changed with that," she said.
"... What the BreastScreen staff do is they just do regular tests with people who feel they might like to go and have one, which is very important, especially if people have had breast cancer in the past.
"Now, that process will be reintroduced, I've been reassured, probably in a couple weeks' time."
Mayor Ian North also told the chamber he'd had discussions that had indicated BreastScreen would resume its services in the coming weeks, but he was still prepared to write the letter advocating for it.
During Tuesday's announcement, Ms McGill said women who have missed their screenings due to the suspension would be given a prioritised booking by their local services when they reopen.
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