Morrisons breast screening

[AnotherWeasel]

Is is unreasonable of me to feel so offended by the idea of breast screening in Morrisons car park?

I'm 52 and just received an appointment that I wasn't consulted about. I just hate the idea of it. This is my local Morrisons, where I shop, where I frequently run into my awful ex-boyfriend, my estranged mother, the work colleague who sexually harrassed me 10 years ago, friends, neighbours, my postie etc, etc. And there I am, waiting beside the enormous van, emblazoned with bright breast screening decals, clearly about to strip off and have my breasts squished and examined. It all seems so undignified and makes me feel vulnerable and powerless.

Obviously, as a mum I've had to have all my bits on display and poked about with, and again I do think we are generally treated like objects or at least like we are supposed to be mature and sensible and absolutely fine with any sort of indignity that is imposed on us in the name of good sense. But at least that was in a hospital.

Yes, I am a grown woman and absolutely can put on my big girl pants and just do it for my own good. But I really feel quite oppositional to doing that. I feel like women are expected to just be ok about decisions others make about our bodies and that our dignity and privacy isn't important. It seems so disprespectful to us. I can't imagine men being invited to a prostate exam in a van in a supermarket carpark. I feel that, out of principal I don't want to do it, because the more women say 'that's ok, I can put up with a little indignity' the more other women feel pressured into a situation they really aren't happy about. Already, I feel that if I refuse this and ask for a more private screening, I would be seen as being difficult, silly even, and asking for special treatment. And I don't want special treatment, I want all women to be treated with due respect and consideration when accessing intimate medical care.

To be fair, I am a very private and anxious person, and I do have a problematic sexual history. So, I guess I may be influenced by this. Certainly, I am quite surprised there doesn't seem to be any women complaining about it. And I wonder, is it because most of us don't give a hoot, or are there many, many women just quietly missing out on screening services rather than make a fuss.

Get a grip and stop moaning. This appointment could save your life! Mobile units are tge future .... no exorbitant car parking fees, driving round endlessly to get a parking space ... much better in my book.

One of my friends doesn't drive, if she had to go to the main hospital for screening, it would mean two buses, a ferry crossing and then faffing around at the hospital to get to wherever the screening is, then waiting around for the bus to repeat the journey back home.

For people like her, it is a huge bonus to get the appointment and either walk to the supermarket/health centre for it or just one bus will get her there.

I've never, ever heard any woman complaining about attending the mobile units being in supermarket car parks (or any car parks for that matter), we all just get on with having the scans done and crossing our fingers that we don't get a recall because they have found something sinister.

Exactly. On a recent trip to the Thackray Medical Museum, I was interested to read about the Glasgow TB screening program in 1957.

https://www.gla.ac.uk/news/headline_1123093_en.html

Plus mobile X-ray sets weren't new even then. Marie Curie famously developed mobile X-ray vans to radiograph injured soldiers on the battlefield in WW1 so over 100 years ago.

I worked in a dental practice within a Sainsbury's for years, sometimes had to go look for the patients amongst the bedding/pyjamas lol I enjoyed the doss

In what way aren't they ideal? I fundamentally disagree and say that they are ideal. They're massively more accessible for most people, than a hospital. They're on most people's doorstep, offer free parking, and they're incredibly organised and time efficient.

Having a mammogram at my local hospital would entail 1 hour 20 minutes return journey, goodness knows how long cruising the car park looking for a space, a £6 parking charge, and almost certainly sitting in a waiting room for ages, waiting for my slot.

My mammograms have been in a truck at the leisure centre about three minutes drive away (or a walk, so much more accessible for those who don't drive) where I've parked for free and been in and out in ten minutes.

It's also much easier for those who work, as they can get an appointment at a wider variety of times, and call in before they set off to work, or when they get home. No separate journey required in (often) the opposite direction from work.

There's nothing about the environment in inside the truck that's sub optimal. We should all be glad that in making the test more accessible for everyone, many more lives are saved.

My local Tesco sometimes has a blood donation mobile unit in the car park. Is that wrong too?

Is it unreasonable of me to feel so offended by the idea of breast screening in Morrisons car park?

Yes, extremely.

@AnotherWeasel There are a couple of things to unpick here. You need to disassociate your previous trauma from what could be life saving screening and preventative treatment and try and get some help with that.

As PP have pointed out hospital parking is often difficult to find and expensive.
Our local hospital has a screening unit in a shopping mall in the middle of my local town where there is plenty of parking (free if you park in Morrisons). It is a godsend - no wondering how and where you are going to park.

You don't get "consulted" about breast screening, neither do you get "consulted" about smear tests or vaccinations, and you need to get over that kind of self-entitlement.

And again I do think we are generally treated like objects

I disagree. The staff at our local breast screening unit are brilliant and treat everyone with respect.

Your comments about privacy are ridiculous. Breast screening is private it isn't a public spectacle, regardless of whether it is a mobile unit or a hospital. I'm a private person, but the matter of fact way health staff treat procedures like this helps. It is only a few minutes of your time.

You need to get over your embarrassment about the idea of breast screening or own that you just don't want to do it instead of making up silly excuses of where it takes place.

I couldn't agree with you more.

I had this at Morrisons this week. I can understand how you feel as you do have to wait outside sometimes due to the smallness of the van. I also didn't particularly like the tiny cubicle you have to wait in while waiting half dressed. However I do think this is probably a lot worse for the healthcare professionals having to do this in this space. Also parking is cheap and you can get your shopping at the same time. no expensive hospital parking costs.

I really do think if men had to have this they wouldn't do it in a car park.

I think they are trying to reach as many people as possible and have found that women are more likely to turn up if they park for free and do some shopping at the same time. Fewer turn up when called to a hospital. It is a shame you don't like it but I suppose they are trying to satisfy the majority as no solution will please everyone.

@AnotherWeasel been to one, liked that it was easy to park, waited inside, seen promptly, far less faff. Nobody gives two hoots. Initially I was a bit ‘what if someone I know sees me’ but then realised I didn’t care.

This.

When I had my last mammogram, I walked to the local Asda and was in and out in 10 minutes and the radiographer was lovely.

Compared with the couple of other appointments I've needed recently where I've had to investigate parking options at a hospital 10 miles away that I'm not familiar with, drive round for ages looking for a space, pay, find the right section of a badly signposted massive teaching hospital, wait in line at a clinic where they tell 6 people to all turn up at the same time and then see them randomly without any clue when your turn will be, worry that the parking is about to run out because I only paid for 2 hours, have an intimate examination in front of a group of students (fine, everyone needs to learn) and then drive home in rush hour traffic.

I know which I prefer and the van in the Asda car park wasn't in any way 'undignified' or 'some kind of second class service because it's only women and we don't count'.

really do think if men had to have this they wouldn't do it in a car park.

I disagree. I think if routine prostate screening became a thing I think men would jump at the chance of getting it done in a convenient space like a car park.

NB they don't do the screening IN the car park ots in private and if they built a permanent clinic for this kind of thing right next door to Morrisons would this also be undignified?

I have 2 appointments coming up in car parks, one in Asda for lung scan and another for MRI on my brain, think its bloody brilliant that I don't have to go to the main hospital. Both on a Saturday too.p, can then mooch about the shops.
Does not phase me in the slightest, probably because i have had to go through so many medjcal procedures alread, including mastectomy so tge more women that can have theses scans the better.

That's great if privacy and dignity are not important to you but other women still are worthy of them.

But they get privacy and dignity in the mobile units. No one can see them once they're inside and they are just as likely to be seen outside by someone they know at the hospital.

Mobile units are not provided as a spectator sport.

You get as much privacy and dignity in a mobile unit as you do in a hospital.

As someone else said, if you want an empty waiting room go private.

I agree with you @saraclara

Personally I think making access to screening as easy as possible it a good thing. I don't think having a mammogram should be any sort of taboo. It's not like you have to whip your top off i the car park.

I have had them in a local communal hall's car park.

I'm grateful I don't have to go to a hospital - park there (difficult) and catch coughs and colds and potentially other diseases from the many hundreds of people walking about there.

This cuts the risk surely?

I had mine in a local Tesco car park,much more convenient to me than a 22 mile trip to the nearest hospital that scans. It never occurred to me to think it was anything more than convenience. On a tangent if there is anyone reading this and debating whether to bother going for their scan or not, please go. They found a lump in my breast that is so deep it can't be felt on a breast check,even by the consultant,and was only picked up on the scan.

There is nothing public or undignified in getting a mammogram from a mobile unit in a car park
But, do jog on focussing more on appearance than health.
Bear in mind tho', no corpse looks good; I've seen many

If Morrisons sold off part of the carpark and a brick building was built in the space and it was named "Morrison Road Health Clinic" would that be any better?
Although people might still see you going there 🤔

Some people live far from hospitals, some people are afraid of hospitals and prefer this type of set up. The more accessible something is the more likely people will be to actually do it.

This happened to my friend as well. After a lumpectomy and removal of some lymph nodes, no further treatment was required.

I was at a mobile unit 2 days ago and am thankful for the chance to get a screening done, but also have a choice of not to go. This was in a hospital car park. All very professional staff and clean and warm inside.

Even when some idiot woman sent her husband in, just as I was coming out of the room (with a shirt on) to say his wife is just parking up he got a polite short shift to leave the van as they called it.

You can request to have it done elsewhere, but that could be less convenient.