Just more than a month after it was revealed that 450,000 women around the age of 70 were not sent invitations to participate in the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) breast screening program, women in London are being forced to delay screening due to ongoing staffing problems.
NHS confirmed that “a lack of radiographers” is causing delays in patient care, according to a new report from the East London Advertiser, but did not say how many patients this is affecting overall.
One patient, 65-year-old Julia Cameron, has a history of benign breast disease, but she has been unable to book a breast screening appointment since March.
“It’s been very stressful,” Cameron said in the story. “I do examine my breasts regularly and I can’t feel anything untoward, but the whole point of mammography is it’s meant to pick up tumors before you can actually feel them.”
Richard Evans, CEO of the Society and College of Radiographers, was also quoted by the East London Advertiser. Evans explained that this most recent news story is part of a much larger problem that has been going on for quite some time.
“The roots of the problem are in the funding available to train radiographers,” Evans said. “The shortage is now biting.”
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Michael has more than 16 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.