Nine-week wait for urgent breast cancer referrals

Patients given an urgent suspected breast cancer referral are waiting nine weeks for their first appointment due to staff shortages, Manx Care has said.

The health care provider said “workforce vacancies” meant the target two-week wait for those cases was not being met.

To cut the backlog, some patients will be offered appointments at hospitals in England and additional on-island clinics are being held.

Manx Breast Cancer Support Group said nine weeks was “unacceptable and not sustainable" but welcomed Manx Care’s moves to shorten the wait.

The current system operates a "one stop" assessment clinic that provides breast ultrasound, biopsies and other procedures, and involves a breast radiologist, surgeon, and specialist nurse.

Manx Care said the increase in waiting times was “predominantly due to a vacant consultant breast radiologist post”, and action was being taken to secure regular weekdays locum cover while the recruitment process continued.

In the meantime, a visiting consultant is set to hold two days of clinics and another will be joining the current team one day each week from 25 July, allowing for the initial assessments of up to 15 patients weekly.

Those assessments and UK appointments were being offered “based on both clinical priority and date order of referral receipt”, Manx Care said.

Clinical director for cancer services Partha Vaiude said it was important breast cancer was detected at “the earliest opportunity” and the temporary arrangements would help during the “challenging period”.

Julie Stokes of the Manx Breast Cancer Support Group said: “We totally understand what a worrying time it is for patients waiting for their initial appointment at the Manx Breast Unit, and a nine week wait is unacceptable and not sustainable.

The steps being taken would "hopefully shorten waiting times in the short-term" until the permanent post was filled, she added.

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