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.

BreastScreen SA Program Director, Dr Lauren Civetta, said BreastScreen SA are pleased to be introducing a new service which will ensure more South Australian women have access to a breast screening service that is caring, high quality and safe.

"Introducing sensory friendly clinics was an idea raised by our amazing radiographers to make the program more inclusive and increase the participation rate of clients with sensory sensitivities, including women with autism."

"These monthly clinics represent a significant improvement to the design and delivery of our service, reducing barriers and making this important health check even more accessible to South Australian women." Dr Civetta said.

BreastScreen SA Associate Nurse Unit Manager, Emily Mishal, said the program understand that health clinics can provide an overwhelming sensory experience for some clients, and this can be a barrier for some women to attend their regular breast screen appointments.

"These sensory friendly clinics will provide these women with a calm, supportive space tailored to their individual needs, which will improve their screening experience and make them more likely to return for their two-yearly screen." Ms Mishal said.

The first sensory friendly clinic will be held at BreastScreen SA’s Marion Clinic on Wednesday 30 October.

Click here to view further dates and locations, and to register your interest.