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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-02-07 Daily Xml
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Specialised Health Screening Rates

163 The Hon. S.L. GAME ().19 October 2022). Can the Minister for Health and Wellbeing advise, in relation to specialised health checks concerning the South Australian population—

1. What was the annual mammogram screening rate prior to COVID-19?

2. What was the mammogram screening rate during the period of peak pandemic regulations?

3. What is the current mammogram screening rate?

4. What was the annual prostate screening rate prior to COVID-19?

5. What was the prostate screening rate during the period of peak pandemic regulations?

6. What is the current prostate screening rate?

7. What was the annual cervical screening rate prior to COVID-19?

8. What was the cervical screening rate during the period of peak pandemic regulations?

9. What is the current cervical screening rate?

10. What was the annual heart health check rate prior to COVID-19?

11. What was the heart health check rate during the period of peak pandemic regulations?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector): The Minister for Health and Wellbeing has advised:

1. 95,308 screening mammograms were performed in the 2018/2019 financial year. The BreastScreen SA participation rate, as defined by BreastScreen Australia, represent the number of women aged 50 to 74 years, screened within a 24-month period expressed as a percentage of the Australian Bureau of Statistics estimated resident population. For the 24-month period ending 30 June 2019, BreastScreen SA's age standardised participation rate was 58.4 per cent, significantly higher than the national rate of 54.2 per cent.

2. For the 2019/2020 financial year, BreastScreen SA performed 74,381 mammograms. The age standardised participation rate for the 24-month period ending 30 June 2020 was 51.4 per cent, which was above the national participation rate of 49.4 per cent.

For the 2020/2021 financial year, BreastScreen SA performed 89,847 mammograms. The preliminary participation rate for the 24-month period ending 30 June 2021 was 51.1 per cent, which was above the preliminary national participation rate of 47.1 per cent.

Reduced screening volumes and participation rates seen during the 2019/2020 and the 2020/2021 financial years reflected the temporary closure of the program from 27 March to 30 April 2020, 19 to 21 November 2020 and 21 to 27 July 2021, implementation of social distancing, additional cleaning, and infection control measures, together with the phased introduction of new mammography equipment which also impacted screening volumes.

3. For the 2021/2022 financial year, BreastScreen SA performed 92,631 mammograms. The preliminary participation rate for the 24-month period ending 30 June 2022 was 54.0 per cent.

BreastScreen SA continues to be best placed to maximise the early detection of breast cancer. BreastScreen SA anticipates a progressive improvement in participation rates arising from an increase in demand post COVID-19, concurrent with the provision of additional screening capacity within both regional and metropolitan South Australia.

4. Prostate screening (PSA) is used to monitor men with known cancer and for screening purposes. In 2019 (pre-COVID-19), SA Pathology performed 43,707 PSA tests with no prostate cancer history, equalling an average of 3,642 tests per month.

5. In 2020, SA Pathology performed 42,378 PSA tests with no history of cancer, equalling an average of 3,532 tests per month. A significant dip in PSA test numbers occurred in April 2020 with Easter and the introduction of COVID-19 restrictions (to 2,428 tests per month), consistent with an overall reduction in non-COVID-19 testing for this period. In December 2020, PSA test numbers decreased again, consistent with the three-day lockdown and standard public holiday closures.

6. In 2021, SA Pathology performed 45,751 PSA tests with no history of cancer, equalling an average of 3,813 tests per month. A testing decrease in December is attributable to standard public holiday closures.

SA Pathology notes a trend for increased PSA testing for both monitoring of cancer and screening purposes.

7. SA Pathology performed 39,648 cervical screening tests in 2018 and 33,681 cervical screening tests in 2019.

8. SA Pathology performed 19,506 cervical screening tests in 2020 and 16,228 cervical screening tests in 2021.

9. The number of cervical screening tests performed in 2020, 2021 and 2022 was expected to be lower than the number performed in 2018 and 2019, irrespective of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent restrictions.

This is largely due to the program changing from two-yearly Pap tests to five-yearly cervical screening tests from December 2017.

Most people who had screened under the previous program were due for their first HPV test two years after their last Pap test (during the years 2018 and 2019).

Screening tests in 2020, 2021 and 2022 are mainly comprised of people overdue for their first HPV test, as well as people who are newly eligible for cervical screening—mostly due to them turning 25.

The South Australian government also launched a campaign through Wellbeing SA to promote the uptake of cervical screening.

Regarding questions 10 and 11, if these questions are referring to the Medicare Benefits Scheme funded heart health check, this is commonwealth data, of which South Australia does not have access.

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