Junta announces 12-million-euro emergency plan to tackle breast cancer screening failures in Andalucía

Andalucía’s regional government (the Junta) is working to resolve the breast cancer screening programme crisis as soon as possible. The Junta’s current goal is to complete all complementary tests by 30 November for women who have had their first mammograms with inconclusive findings. This was announced by the Junta’s spokesperson Carolina España.

There are about 2,000 women, 90% of whom are patients of Hospital Virgen del Rocío in Seville, who were not informed that they had to undergo further testing. The Junta is currently investigating this failure. Malaga, Jerez de la frontera (Cadiz), and Malaga have the remaining 10% of communication failures.

The Junta has no precise information about the number of patients who may have suffered a worsening of their health as a result this crisis. According to statistics, however, approximately 1-2% of women who received an inconclusive diagnosis in their first mammogram may have developed tumours.

While the Andalusian health service (SAS), investigates this communication failure to determine the number of women that were affected and the specific reasons, the regional administration has approved the implementation a shock-plan in which they will invest twelve million euros into all mammograms, as well ultrasounds, still pending.

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119 professionals, including 65 radiodiagnostic surgeons, 20 nurses, and 18 specialists radiodiagnostic technicians will be employed in the breast hospitals to complete these tasks urgently. These teams will also work in extraordinary conditions, including on Sundays, Saturdays, and public holidays.

This plan will be implemented mainly in the Virgen del Rocío hospital, as this is the crisis epicentre.

According to España, most Andalusian hospitals did inform patients that they had to undergo new tests despite the fact that the protocol, in force since 2011, did not oblige them to do so.

The Junta approved a modification to this protocol, so that patients who have mammograms which did not produce conclusive results, and must undergo further tests, will be notified. Even if two radiologists agree that a mammogram shows a benign result, the woman will still be notified that she must undergo further tests.

The spokesperson for the Junta stated that all affected health centres are actively informing their patients both personally and via telephone. “We clearly explain the results and what happened in each case,” said the spokesperson.

Carolina España has already assumed the role of communicating the plan and making sure that the measures are implemented, although former regional health minister Rocío Hernández took the first steps by going to Virgen del Rocío in Seville. España stated that this situation “should have never happened” and that the Junta is working to ensure that it does not repeat.

The spokesperson admitted that this crisis within the regional healthcare system worries the Andalusian authorities a lot. Once the cause of the breakdown is identified, she said that those responsible will face consequences. The Junta is currently focusing on patients with unconclusive tests.

The breast cancer screening programme in Andalucía has been in place since 1995. The number of women who have undergone screening has significantly increased in recent years: from 440,000 appointments to the first nine months in 2025.