The wait for NHS test results is cruel and anxiety inducing

[Summortime]

I had a routine NHS mammogram a week ago. Was told up to three weeks wait for the result. I cannot believe this is considered acceptable. In USA for example you can get the result within the next couple of days. My American colleague was shocked that here in the UK we are just expected to wait.

My anxiety is sky high. I appreciate this is a problem I need to get help with but if results were given in days rather than weeks my anxiety would not be so bad. It is the waiting that’s the worst.

How in a so called first world country is a long wait for test results considered acceptable?

I have to wait up to six weeks for my tumour marker blood results to come back. It’s not great but what can you do?

All of this. To the point.

When I had my routine mammogram, the radiologist asked (before the mammogram was taken) if I'd ever had one before and, if so, where was it and when because they will routinely send for those images and compare.

As I was leaving, she said to me I would hear within 2-3 weeks. However, I heard her say to the lady before me that she would hear within 2 weeks.

Are there any radiologists on here who would know if it's 2-3 weeks if they have to compare to previous mammograms from other hospitals - otherwise it's 2 weeks?

Also, can a radiologist instantly see if there is a cause for concern and are these scans 'triaged' ahead of those of no concern? I'd be interested to know. I just had an 'all ok' letter after 17 days.

I understand where you are coming from OP. I have awful health anxiety and any kind of wait is stressful however I'm still really grateful for our NHS. We are lucky to have it. I just wish the government would invest more and sort it out. I'd happily pay more in taxes for something that is crucial.

It is so revealing that the only posters who compare NHS with any other system and conclude that NHS is better use USA.

All other countries and health systems that are mentioned on this thread are to the conclusion that healthcare there is better than one offered by NHS.

But still, we focus on USA....

Imagine going through life convinced you have it great as long as you are not worse off than your weird cousin, ignoring the standard provided in the rest of the world. Amazing.

Cool, so your payslip has a deduction for mammogram on it? That’s pretty advanced stuff, I’ve not heard of businesses giving their employees such a detailed breakdown of where their deductions go before. Interesting stuff really, I’d love to know how they the data from the NHS.

I have had mammogram results back within the week (negative ones).
The days scans are often sent to Australia and read overnight (their daytime) and results returned next morning and if there is a problem they are reexamined and the person contacted (before I get accused of being woke men get breast cancer too).
There is a reciprocal agreement from Australian scanners

That’s good to hear. I know I’m not party to the ins and outs of the NHS, but I’ve always been both frustrated and baffled (in terms of cost/efficiency etc) about the proliferation of appointments you have to go through for treatment. Why is that less costly?

En route to this appointment I thought ‘I hope that if I need a biopsy they’ll just do it there and then - please just stick that needle in!’ And they sort of did ( a scan). I dreaded being told that I’d get a letter for another appointment for it.

Of course the NHS can’t be the same as private healthcare but as with state v private education there are surely a few things to be learned?

Its a mammographer that takes your mammogram at routine screening, not a Radiologist. The Radiologist will read the mammogram.
We ask if you have been screeened before as a previous mammogram is useful for comparison.
There may be a slight delay while we wait to receive the transfer, but the images are digital so this is unusual.
When your mammograms are read by 2 separate Radiologists, any that have clinical concern are sent to arbitration where they are looked at again and then a recall or discharge decision is made.
Any patient who needs a recall is usually recalled within 14 days as this is another KPI that needs to be met.

Yeah, it’s not normal to have skyhigh anxiety about the results of a routine mammogram. If they actually have reason to think it’s cancer, they prioritise.

If you are this anxious about a routine scan, you need to work on your anxiety, not blame the NHS. Objectively, you are in no different position to where you were before the scan. The vast majority of routine screening will show no cause for concern. We all need to learn how to not catastrophise while we wait for results. Many of us on here will have had tests for specific concerns and waited for the results. It's not ideal but honestly, it is possible to decide not to meet trouble half way.

Up to now. As you get older, after the time you'll be paying NI, unless you're very lucky (or very unlucky) your cost to the NHS is likely to increase greatly. No, the system isn't perfect and it isn't "free" but I'd still rather take my chances with it than the US model.

I do think they have different thresholds for concern though. For instance, I'm in London and if you ring the GP about anything it's usually about 2 weeks to get a GP appt. However, when I had menstrual bleediing earlier this year, I couldn't remember if my last period had been within 12 months (so was not sure if I was classed as post-menopause or still peri). I phoned the GP at about midday, they got me in at 4pm! She said she would put me on a '2 week pathway.' I wasn't too worried at that time as I wasn't sure what this meant. This was Friday afternoon. At 9am Monday I had a call regarding what they called my "urgent cancer referral." I was terrified. But I was in the gynae clinic at 9am on the Wednesday. The lady who did the internal ultrasound was lovely, she talked me through the whole thing. It turned out I'm still in perimenopause and everything looked absolutely fine. But they did not hang about! This is why I suspect they may also triage routine mammograms and if there is any concern, people are called back a lot sooner.

But the point still stands: there is no developed country which would allow any child to die of treatable cancer. Not one. And in the vast majority of those countries (read: all but the USA), insurance would not be a relevant factor either.

Unless people really believe that in France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and any other of our close European neighbours, "uninsured" patients are left with untreated infectious disease, or lying in the road after a car accident, because these benighted countries don't have "our" <cringe> NHS? Now that really would be an example of misguided British exceptionalism...

Thanks for explaining @Sleepysunrise

Exactly. Much prefer the systems they have in the EU.

I never said there was though. I was just pointing out that it wasn't just a few weeks in hospital when it was life threatening, he was there for a very long time and needed a lot of treatments and surgeries and scans.

The parent cancer group I'm in is majority American so obviously I can't compare to any other system because it is either American or the handful of us who use the NHS.

I am always curious about what people who have similar views think that the solution is?

You are right, the NHS isn’t perfect but it’s not about whether someone is ‘worthy’. I understand that you are frustrated and possibly scared but do you really think that people are purposely kept waiting?

The results don’t change the longer they take OP. I know it’s frustrating but the workers cant magic up extra people to process the results. Write your your MP if you want to.

You are able to pay for private if you’d prefer.

YANBU. The weeks I spent waiting to find out whether the tumour I had was cancerous or benign were some of the worst of my life. It's cruel to let people worry for weeks. And the NHS isn't free! I pay in thousands a month in NI.

Then a lot of your gratefulness (for NHS - not for the fact that your child is now healthy, of course) really does arise out of fallacy of only comparing with USA.

We all really deserve so much better.

That's probably true to be fair considering it's always the alternative health system that enters my mind first, even knowing that obviously others are out there but as I said, that's because I interact with a lot of American parents through my cancer group.

Out of curiosity, since I know you've said you have experienced several systems. What would the ideal system look like if it was up to you?

I will admit to not reading anything other than the OP. Apologies to anyone who may have already said something similar to this.
I have voted YANBU. As you suffer from anxiety I think it’s reasonable for you to be anxious while waiting for the results. It would be entirely different for someone who didn’t suffer from anxiety.

Is this your first time having a routine mammogram? You know its the way your mind processes events like this rather than the likely outcome of the tests.

Hang on in there, the results will come soon enough. Wishing you well. x

Americans also pay tax and social security.

They then have to pay for medical insurance on top of this.

And if you are poor you might have very poor coverage. Requests for treatment might be denied, you might not be able to access more expensive drugs, you might have to pay a huge amount every month for insulin or asthma inhalers.

My colleague has really good cover provides by our employer and it cost him £5k in co-pay to have his baby.