South Australian women with sensory sensitivities will be able to access a breast screen in a more supportive environment with BreastScreen SA to introduce sensory friendly clinics from later this month.
The sensory friendly clinics will be held once a month at rotating screening clinics across South Australia, including at rural and remote locations visited by the mobile screening units.
Staff specially trained in sensory processing will be able to offer clients more space to wait for their appointment, longer appointment times, fewer people in the clinic, customised lighting, a fragrance-free environment, support to use headphones to listen to music and sensory relaxation tools.
All women who screen as part of the clinics will be paired with staff who are aware of their individual needs.
The introduction of the new sensory friendly clinics follows a successful trial held earlier this year which received overwhelmingly positive feedback from both staff and clients.
Three clinics were held between February and May and involved the screening of 20 women, the majority of which had never screened before.
As part of the project, an external consultant was engaged to conduct an environmental audit and train staff in sensory processing while consumers were also engaged to provide their input into the design.
Every year, BreastScreen SA provides around 95,000 breast screens to women across its 11 clinics, including eight fixed screening clinics and three mobile screening units.
The program provides free breast screens (breast X-rays) every two years to women over 40, primarily aged 50 to 74 years, who have no symptoms, with the aim of diagnosing breast cancer at an early stage, before it can be felt.
The first sensory friendly clinic will be held at BreastScreen SA's Marion Clinic on Wednesday 30 October.
To view further dates and locations and to make a free appointment, go to www.breastscreen.sa.gov.au
