Breast Screening Unit Comes To RHS Wisley

Published on: 12 Jun, 2025
Updated on: 12 Jun, 2025

Surrey residents will now be able attend appointments at a new NHS breast cancer screening unit at RHS Wisley.

More than 9,000 people aged 50-70 across North Surrey will be invited to visit the unit for routine breast screening, where they will see a female health specialist called a mammographer.

Those aged 71 or over will not automatically be invited for breast screening. However, they have the right to free screening every three years on request. They will need to phone or write to their local breast screening unit to make an appointment.

The state-of-the-art mobile scanning unit will be stationed in the car park at Wisley from now until February 2026. Commissioned by NHS England South East, the screening service is provided on behalf of the NHS by InHealth, the UK’s largest specialist provider of diagnostic and healthcare solutions.

Breast screening uses X-rays called mammograms to check the breasts for any signs of abnormal changes, aiming to catch cancer at the earliest stage. The NHS says that for every 1,000 screens, around nine breast cancers are found, diagnosed and treated earlier, offering the best chance of survival.

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in the UK, with the chances of getting breast cancer increasing as you get older. Around one in seven women in the UK are diagnosed with breast cancer during their lifetime.

Dr Charlotte Canniff, Surrey GP and Joint Chief Medical Officer for Surrey Heartlands, said: “We find that even the presence of a screening unit at a popular visitor attraction can help prompt people to book their screening appointment. We also find that people are more likely to book in and attend a place that is local, convenient and less clinical.”

Elwyn Owen, Head of Site at RHS Garden Wisley, said: “We are glad to host the mobile scanning unit and hope that it will be a convenient location for those attending screening appointments. If seeing the unit here encourages more people to book, we are more than happy to help.”