To think that having a mammogram carried out by a man is preferable to a long wait for an appointment.

[JudithOnHolidayAgain]

I know many people who wouldn't be here now without early detection of breast cancer due to the screening programme.
I have had a few myself.
It's not something I look forward to but it's a few minutes of discomfort that could save my life so I put up with it.
Given the choice I would prefer a woman carry it out as it is quite intrusive but as there is a shortage of female staff I would be ok with a male member of staff as long as there was a chaperone and Iwas told in advance.
If they do change the rules I think there should be a choice.

I’m currently going through chemo for breast cancer and would never put off screening just because a man was doing it. I’d prefer a woman, yes. But if it was the choice between catching a cancer slightly earlier with a male carrying out a mammogram - or a few mm bigger waiting for a female, it’s a no brainer. Generally, the earlier you catch it = the less brutal the treatment. Chemo sucks way more than a male radiographer touching your boob for a few seconds…

x

@JudithOnHolidayAgain I had my routine mammogram yesterday and the radiographer did not know a thing about this!! she agreed that women would not be amenable to this happening!

I still feel that if men had to put their willies into a machine to have it crushed, then they would be looking for an alternative way to check for lumps!!*

Having been sexually abused by a nurse in ICU when I was in my teens, I'm afraid I don't have quite such a universally idealised perception of medical professionals. As a result, I genuinely struggle with being in hospitals at all, and feeling so vulnerable.

Somehow (for me) a mammogram is so up close and personal it feels intimate in a way that a smear or whatever doesn't
I have had breast exams and ultrasound for lumps which again didn't feel so personal

And I find mammograms very painful - I would not like a man to do them

That is their right, you can't force medical treatment or intervention on anyone. Same as people of certain religions declining blood transfusions. That's their right.

But I'm this scenario you'd have just had your appointment cancelled with today's rules of women only. So you'd be no worse off if you got there and there were only men and you had to cancel

Not irrelevant to women who have been raped or sexually assaulted and would find intimate procedures by a man retraumatizing.

I think the best way to solve shortages is to remove tuition fees for medical courses where there are shortages or where we are anticipating shortages and instead offset it against a period of time working within the NHS.

For all those talking about huge staff shortages so the only answer is a man, look at the number of vacancies for mammographers nationwide. You may be surprised…

15 posts do not a shortage make. There is not a shortage of female mammographers - where's your data and statistics, please?

So you only want women who have had a mammogram to perform one?

What do you mean? There’s a national shortage of radiographers.

That’s not what I said don’t twist my words.

Absolutely right, @Jumpers4goalposts.

I don’t think that’s fair. What about other areas with shortages such as teaching and IT? They could leave the NHS straight after their time with a free degree.

There is a shortage of radiographers and a mammographer is a specialised radiographer. As such there most definitely is a shortage of mammographers.

So there is a shortage of radiographers and if more become specifically mammogram , then the shortage elsewhere will be worse ?

Personally I think that should be the same too. Anyone should be able to study any subject that they want but if as a society we need you to study certain areas these should cost less and be offset with a period of time working for the NHS or for state education etc.,

I know, which is what I stated.

I agree about it being different in the mobile units, the space is very limited. The last time I was there I wasn’t given a gown was told to strip to the waist in the changing room and walk into the room where the radiographer was then sit answer some questions etc I’m guessing this is just to confirm name date of birth etc I can’t remember then wait while they set got the machine ready which wasn’t long. It would have made me feel very uncomfortable if that was with a male. I can’t remember but I think the time before that I was told to leave my bra on then go into the room and take it off there when the radiographer was ready. Like others have said it feels more intimate than a gynae exam (I’ve had loads of these done by male staff) as they are very close to your face and literally “manhandling” your breasts.
I get that the thing with having no gowns etc saves the NHS money and time. I don’t get how it would help the shortages though as surely you would need a chaperone or at least make one available to those who wanted it. I’m also not sure how the option of choice would work as don’t know how far in advance the NHS would know which staff would be working on the mobile unit.

I completely agree, having had a male breast consultant remove a small lump under local anaesthetic did not feel anywhere near as intimate (for me anyway) as what happens during a mammogram. It’s hard to explain but I think it’s all the handling of the breasts and pulling about at close quarters. Absolutely agree with what others have said about if it was men who had to have their penis squashed flat in between two plates they would be looking for another method !

I also meant to say that of course I would rather see a male health care practitioner for a mammogram than have to wait if I found a lump, but I agree with Kemi Badenoch (this pains me to be on the same page as her as I’m a socialist) on this why should women have to compromise ? The answer is to do more to recruit staff needed and keep them.

I'm so sorry that this discussion seems to be putting women against women. I would like to put the focus on making the service easy and as stress free as possible to access for all women. Some/many women prefer to have their breasts not handled by men. Already take up rates are low. If we start by saying " let's train up the men who want to do this" rather than let's facilitate the women, we are putting our emphasis in the wrong place. Obvs if indications of cancer are found, then we prioritise the best and speediest treatment. But surely it's better to recognise that if women feel uncomfortable they won't use the service.

@Ariana12 I completely agree. Women being given a choice of male or female radiographer sounds fine but would be difficult to enforce as others have said for instance if a female staff member goes sick on the day and you turn up to be told you can either go home or have a man do it. Many women would feel extremely uncomfortable refusing treatment, would possibly go through with it and then maybe not come back for a further mammogram. Not everyone is assertive enough to say no on the spot and if they did say no this would be a wasted appointment that someone else could have had.

Someone on the other thread posted that there's an apprenticeship for associate mammographers. They do not have to be radiographers.
So it seems that the NHS are training non radiographers to be mammographers already.

So that already addresses the shortage of radiographers. Because there's a different route to get them.

For 15 vacancies.

Again, where's your data? I don't see any on your post.