Dr Angela Raffle has practised as a Consultant in Public Health in Bristol since 1990. Her involvement in local programme delivery for cervical screening began in 1986 while she was still in training. Data since 1977 for her Bristol area programme revealed the extent of the barely recognised yet growing overdiagnosis issue within cervical screening. With the support of colleagues in Bristol and nationally, she successfully published on this issue, despite strong opposition from those who regarded this as ‘too controversial’. An advocate for honesty and informed consent, Angela has worked part time for the UK National Screening Programmes since it began, combining this with her Bristol-based public health work. In 1997, she was awarded the Skrabanek Prize for contribution to medical ethics.
To mark the committee’s 25th anniversary, Dr Angela Raffle explains how the UK NSC has helped transform screening for the better from the ‘bad old days’ of haphazard, ineffective and harmful activities.
The UK National Screening Committee is celebrating its 25th anniversary. Dr Angela Raffle looks back at its creation and how it has transformed screening for the better.
Find out about the second edition of the Screening: Evidence and Practice book by Angela Raffle, Anne Mackie and Muir Gray.
The screening masterclass is still going strong nearly 20 years on.