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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To not go for scan in a car park

112 replies

JesusSufferingFuck22 · 20/02/2023 15:53

I’ve been given a breast screening appointment. It’s in a mobile unit at our local supermarket.

I have mobility issues due to MS and think it’ll be a challenge for me to get there.

Does anyone know how accessible these vans are? I use a manual wheelchair but can walk a short distance/use stairs with handrails.
I’ve emailed them and let them know my needs but I’m feeling pretty uncomfortable about it. It’s like my disability will be on display in a car park. Can I request to have my appointment elsewhere or am I being too sensitive?

OP posts:

VanGoghsDog · 20/02/2023 16:36

Hmm......for mine I have to drive an hour and pay to park at the hospital (or drive to the station in my town, get the train to that town, then get a taxi to the hospital because it's on the outskirts of the town) because the NHS trust won't do it at my local hospital and seem to have no mobile units.

So, be careful what you wish for!

littlekipling · 20/02/2023 16:37

I've had an MRI in one of these (like you I have MS and it was my annual scan). The facilities were sooooo much better than in hospital (newer and cleaner) and I could park free and close. They positioned it facing away from car park and nobody even looks over at people coming and going in them. They had a ramp at mine but staff were really helpful so would have helped you up the stairs if you needed it. The thought of my scan being in a car park brought up so many thoughts like you're having but now I'm sad I've moved areas and having my scans back in a dated old dirty hospital with extortionate parking a long walk away. Try to go in with an open mind and I hope it all goes well for you xx

amonsteronthehill · 20/02/2023 16:38

It was accessible when I had it done in a Tesco parking lot. quick in and out, too.

Mariposista · 20/02/2023 16:39

You will be fine. They will be set up for disabled people and you certainly won’t be the only one in your situation. Please attach the appointment, mammograms are so important.

RubyDarke · 20/02/2023 16:39

Please do contact them and ask, and if it isn't suitable, ask for an appointment somewhere else. All the ones I have been to have been up 3 steps but the hospital unit has a ramp.

I went to my mammogram recently and got a call back with concerns. I am happy to say that 3 mammograms, 2 ultrasounds and 2 needle core biopsies later I have the all clear, but it is a life-saving service.

justgettingthroughtheday · 20/02/2023 16:40

They are accessible and you won't have to climb the stairs! If they don't have a ramp then they have the lift on the back of the lorry! You won't have to leave your chair outside.

The reality is you have an appointment for a reason. The nhs is swamped so you should accept the appointment your given so longs as it is accessible to you. Nobody else in the car park will give a flying fig what your doing! Or where your going.

ShandaLear · 20/02/2023 16:45

It’s much much more accessible than going to a hospital, finding parking, finding the right floor/wing/department, then getting back out again and paying for parking to boot. That’s one of the reasons why they have mobile units.

Moveoverdarlin · 20/02/2023 16:45

Why do you feel vulnerable in a supermarket car park?

The mobile unit in which they do mammograms will be like the COVID testing units, which I managed with a double buggy, so I doubt there will be stairs to manage. There will be a ramp.

SmudgeButt · 20/02/2023 16:47

Don't assume there is a ramp. The van I've been going to for the last decade or so doesn't have one. Also don't assume you will be able to safely leave your wheelchair outside. Contact the people organising the screenings and ask about the alternatives.

No one will care that you use a wheelchair and then go up the stairs but as I say - I've been going to the same van for at least 10 years and I wouldn't leave anything outside unattended. This one is at a sports ground with lots of kids/teens/adults going by. I would hope that no one would want to go for a joyride but one never knows.

GremlinDolphin4 · 20/02/2023 16:48

You are not being sensitive! The mobile units are very hard to access with mobility issues but they can always give you an accessible appointment in the hospital if you contact them and they will change your record so you only get hospital appointments in the future. Been there done it all with my mum! Good luck. Xx

Apairofsparklingeyes · 20/02/2023 16:50

The mobile unit in my local area has 7 steep steps, no lift and no help available for disabled women. I was much more comfortable going to a hospital for mine, even though it’s a lot further away. It meant I didn’t have any steps to deal with, there were toilets nearby and there was someone to assist me as I struggle to stand for any length of time.

2bazookas · 20/02/2023 16:50

Go for it, they'll help you. I've always found that the mammogram staff in mobile unit, take more time and are gentler/more considerate than mammogram staff in hospitals.

EwwSprouts · 20/02/2023 16:55

The mobile units in our county only have stairs. They like to use a nice garden centre. The suggestion is book for the hospital if you have mobility issues.

Aavalon57 · 20/02/2023 16:55

I had to attend such a screening at a mobile unit in our local Asda car park! Like you, I was a bit apprehensive at first, but they are parked away from the main, busy bit, you can park right next to the unit and there are usually a handful of steps. Once you're inside, you wouldn't even know you are in a car park. Also, nobody paid much attention at all, and even though this is a huge Asda (also part of a retail park, I should add), there weren't many cars parked in that bit, and any that were, nobody paid any attention to who was coming and going from the unit. The only thing I would check is whether they have a ramp. I was literally in and out of my appointment in ten minutes.

Tinkerbyebye · 20/02/2023 16:57

There will be a lift. My sister is in a wheelchair. We phoned the number of the letter so they could let them know and we booked one of the last appointments of the day

ouchmyteeth · 20/02/2023 16:57

My local hospital have loads of boobmobiles in various supermarket car parks

Melroses · 20/02/2023 16:57

The one I go to is in the hospital car park. So you have to park at the hospital and pay for the car park, walk in the front of out patients, out the side, up a long corridor, turn left, then go out a door in the back to another car park where it is in a mobile unit.

There was a disabled lady in before me once and they told her to ring up and make an appointment at the breast clinic another time because they have better equipment there that can be adapted.

TheYearOfSmallThings · 20/02/2023 16:58

It sounds handy! They are accessible and you know you can park right beside it, rather than driving around a hospital car park and then roaming the corridors.

Rightsraptor · 20/02/2023 16:58

The one I went to in the autumn was in a hospital car park, which seemed a bit odd. But my letter stated quite plainly that it wouldn't be suitable for anyone with serious mobility issues, such a needing a wheelchair. Nor was it - access by stairs and narrow inside.

I'd phone them, if I were you OP and probably get an appointment elsewhere.

Nevercloser · 20/02/2023 17:08

In my experience, the comments by previous posters with regard to the ease of parking, proximity to parking spaces and privacy are spot on, although I do understand your anxiety about going for a medical appointment in a public place. Honestly though , no-one is going to be looking, caring or thinking that its anything out of the ordinary that a women in a wheelchair is going for a mammogram. Also your local Morrisons will probably be much easier to get to than your local hospital.
For these reasons when I have my appointment and its scheduled at the hospital (every year due to breast cancer) I request that I have it at Morrisons, if possible. Usually I'm not able to because these appointments are quite popular and you have to wait your turn. I was told that I was only entitled to one in the car park every three years.
All I mean by the above is that I'm pretty sure if you requested to go your hospital instead of the car park it wouldn't be a problem.
Hope everything goes well.

Mumsgirls · 20/02/2023 17:09

Sorry mixing it up with the mammogram one

CatJumperTwat · 20/02/2023 17:13

GoodChat · 20/02/2023 15:54

They have to be accessible so there will be wheelchair access . There won't be loads of people in there so it's not like you'll be on display.

The one I went to was not accessible. It was up a set of Haki stairs. I'm disabled and was given no warning of this in any of the letters.

Zosime · 20/02/2023 17:14

it has crossed my mind that a determined perv could have a peak at my squashed breasts.

At the mobile unit I've been to, only people with appointments were allowed in. Presumably an essential carer would be allowed, but there isn't room in the waiting area for a lot of extra people. Men were not allowed in - there was a notice outside to that effect.

The scanning area was completely separate and private from the reception/waiting area, and patients were escorted in by staff. A random perv couldn't just walk in.

Wisenotboring · 20/02/2023 17:18

I can understand that you want to make sure that the unit will be accessible for you. I would make a phone call to confirm they will.be able to meet your needs. Beyond that I'm not sure what difference it makes where the scanner is. It's worth bearing in mind this is a potentially life saving screening and we are so lucky to have it available to us.
People are far more self centred than you are giving them credit for, they will.be busy minding their own business/shopping and won't be interested in randoms going into a screening facility.

piedbeauty · 20/02/2023 17:21

I've been to one but IME it wasn't accessible. Steps to get in, no ramps. Too small inside for a wheelchair I think. Tell them about your accessibility needs when you book?

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