GREAT Western Hospital has been asked to perform extra breast cancer screenings, after ministers admitted that a cancer admin error could have put thousands of women at risk.

The government said this week that up to 270 women could have died as they were not invited to a routine breast cancer screening.

An estimated 450,000 women aged 68-71 since 2009 failed to receive invitations for their final screenings, the health secretary told MPs.

Bosses at the Great Western Hospital said yesterday that they have been asked by Public Health England to perform extra screenings.

However, it is not yet clear how many additional screenings they would be asked to carry out.

Speaking at a meeting of the Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust’s board of directors, clinical director Dr Guy Rooney said: “I would like to reassure women that screenings are just one part of the identification and management of people who may have potential breast disease and we have other processes in place so that the signs and symptoms of breast disease can be easily identified and fast tracked to the appropriate care.

“For any women who do have concerns, there is a national helpline and we would encourage those women to contact that helpline first before contacting GPs.”

Earlier this week, health secretary Jeremy Hunt blamed a problem with the computer algorithm for the failure to send out the invitation.

Mr Hunt said in the House of Commons: "For them [the surviving women] and others it is incredibly upsetting to know that you did not receive an invitation for screening at the correct time and totally devastating to hear you may have lost or be about to lose a loved one because of administrative incompetence."

Dr Jenny Harries, deputy medical director at Public Health England, apologised to women caught up in the computer cock-up: “We are writing to them to offer a catch-up screening appointment. They and their families’ wellbeing is our top priority and we are very sorry for these faults in the system.”

She said that changes to the IT systems had been introduced to ensure that the problem would not be repeated.

Cancer charities slammed the failings. Baroness Delyth Morgan, chief executive of Breast Cancer Now, said: "That hundreds of thousands of women have not received screening invitations they've been relying upon, at a time when they may be at most risk of breast cancer, is totally unacceptable.”

Macmillan Cancer Support chief executive Lynda Thomas added: "It's absolutely critical we understand what happened and make sure this never happens to another person again."

Women between the ages of 50 and 70 are eligible for free breast cancer scans every three years. Government figures show that, in 2016/17 almost 79 per cent of eligible women in Swindon had been screened within the last three years; above the national average.

Public Health England has set up a helpline for people worried that they or a relative has missed a screening appointment to call. The helpline number is: 0800 169 2692.