Between 30 and 60 women who are not checked for breast cancer because of screening delays may die from the disease unnecessarily, figures collated on behalf of public health institute RIVM show.

Women between 50 and 75 are supposed to be checked for breast cancer every two years but currently the average time between screenings is 29 months.

In 2021 the health ministry decided the time between screenings could be lengthened to three years but one in 20 women had to wait even longer than that. The delay increases the chance of the disease being discovered late, leading to more invasive and costly treatment.

Estimates suggest the delay will cause between 30 and 60 extra deaths from breast cancer in the longer term.

The delay is caused by a lack of staff and the backlog from the coronavirus crisis when screenings were stopped. “There will be no return to two years between screenings any time soon, “ RIVM spokeswoman Patricia Hugen told broadcaster NOS.

Last July the health inspectorate warned that the quality of the screenings is deteriorating because of a focus on making up the numbers.

The system was further criticised in September when it became clear that women who have dense breast tissue, estimated at some 80,000, are not given that information even though they are twice as likely to develop breast cancer because the tumours go unnoticed.

Junior health minister Vincent Karremans has been talking to regional health councils and patient association BVN about the possibility of informing this group of women and offering them further screening, using a contrast-enhanced mammography (CEM).

An MRI scan, which is considered to be most effective for the detection of tumours, was considered “not future-proof because of the necessary long term investments in infrastructure and staff,” Karremans said in a briefing to MPs.