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?

There used to be a charity I subscribed too which existed to fund mammograms for US women who couldn’t afford them. Let’s face it, women without good health insurance in the US wait a lot longer than a few weeks for a mammogram result, some wait a lifetime……

It is a long time to wait for results but this is because it is a routine mammogram. The mammograms are done and then need to be looked at and reported on by a radiologist. These are the same radiologists working in hospitals reporting on x-rays, CT scans, MRIs etc and also sometimes having to procedures under x-ray guidance.

Routine screening tests are at the bottom of the pile for reviewing and reporting on unfortunately but if you had a mammogram because you had symptoms that could be breast cancer then the wait would be much shorter.

You might want to check what NI contributions actually pay for.

You could always use your free work
health insurance like
your American friend if you want.

or wait until the system
is brought in here and see
if you still think it’s a good idea.

Yes, 3 weeks feels like a long time but for what we get in the NHS it really isn’t that bad.

And much of that NI does NOT go to the NHS.

You can get it on the same day if you pay for it.

I ended up doing that after I found a lump. Was told that I was on the 2 wk pathway, but when I phoned appointments was told that it would be 16 to 18 wks for an appointment.

Waiting for test results would have invalidated my travel insurance - I was going to a wedding the following month - so I phoned the nearest private hospital and got an appointment with one of their consultants. He checked me out and had his colleague give me the mammogram.

Not ideal - I could have done with keeping the money - but just to say that the American system isn't actually better than ours. (And yes - I paid NI for 40 yrs.)

Why is everyone so full of illusions about NHS being "free" is actually part of the problem.

OP, I agree - waiting for 3 weeks is not acceptable medical standard, it just isn't.

And part of the reason why a health service provider in a Western nation is working with such unjustifiable delays is that everyone in England apparently think that they either need to accept the public health system that is no good at all, or need to do the USA fully privately insured consumerist system, so when comparing these two, NHS sounds like a better option.

Well it's like comparing two systems which are in the end very bad for people, end of sentence.

You are ignoring that most EU countries have publicly funded systems that you also fund through tax and not at point of receipt, which are so better equipped, staffed and just plainly better at what they are meant to do than NHS.
It's almost a matter of national pride to be so deluded about NHS, just because "it's free" (it is very much not free).
And until everyone acknowledges that what is going on with NHS is unacceptable, you will stay with 3 weeks long waits etc., which are justified with "but everyone else is also". No, they are not. To each what they deserve, however.

It’s a routine screening test. If you had symptoms/a lump you would go to the breast clinic and get the result on the same day.

I agree, a colleague went off sick with the stress of waiting for results, history of breast cancer in the family and her yearly mammogram came back as needing involved, waited 2 weeks for an another appointment, then 3 weeks for the results - so 5 weeks of waiting! Poor woman was a wreck

’Sky high’ anxiety? Come on, it was a routine mammogram. You’ve got absolutely no reason to have a high level of anxiety about this. Why not turn this around and think ‘aren’t I fortunate to be able to access screening free at the point of service’ ?

My experience with NHS tests is that they quite often come back sooner than you anticipate. I had a smear a month ago on a Friday afternoon and the results were available on my NHS app on the Monday morning, despite being told it would take a couple of weeks.

I had a conversation with a woman at the gym. The waiting list here (NHS Fife) is now more than 18 weeks, she told me. She also went private (as I outlined in my pp.)

ETA We both had symptoms. My impression is that it might have been quicker if we'd been younger.

Ffs, be grateful u are checked and live in a so called first world country to have results to wait for. Just research how many breast cancers in the USA are diagnosed late as those women DO NOT HAVE HEALTHCARE insurance or money to pay for it. The NHS is stretched so so bad, be thankful for the staff there working their absolute arses off every dongle day to make sure that it is only a few weeks and not way longer. Honestly I get the anxiety but welcome to the UK. If you really can’t wait then u need to go private and see how u get on. But really, it’s a routine!!! Test, I suggest u go to America and work yourself into the absolute ground to get “free” (laughable) healthcare. And good luck with the taxes u will pay the holiday time u won’t have and the absolute hell of a rat race u will be involved with. U have worked 30 years? So what? Best wishes I hope ur results prove to be nothing scary.

You lost me at the word cruel

But the truth is that the results are usually available very quickly. Usually delivered.back to your GP with 2-3 days.

Most of the delay is because doctors will not release results before they have curated them because 25% of patients will go batshit crazy over results they don't understand.

And you do get the bizarre situation where you phone in 3 weeks later, having panicked for ages, only to be told by a receptionist "oh, they were fine".

The NHS may be free at the point of care, but it is an organisation that is run for itself. It is not good at looking at itself from the outside and working out how simple changes (like an automatic text message) could greatly improve people's lives.

I'm sure the NHS isn't trying to be cruel or to upset you OP. Many areas now have a two step process when initial results are checked first using AI, and then checked again by an experienced radiologist.

There is currently a shortage of radiologists in the UK.

I was diagnosed in 2021 and was recalled within 24 hours because the results were glaringly obvious at first glance. But if they hadn't been, I would still have been happy to wait, if that wait meant they were double checked and the result was accurate.

My anxiety is sky high today because my bloke’s had unexpected after effects following cancer surgery. He spoke to his specialist nurse this morning and is having a CT scan this afternoon. Clinical priority is one of the reasons the results of a routine scanning appointment are delayed. Do you want to change places with me @Summortime?

Did I read correctly rly you said it is a ROUTINE scan? Why are you freaking out and why should it be prioritised?

Ok why don't you compare the amount you pay to medical insurance premiums plus the out of pocket excess Americans pay.

I'll add that the wait for a check for post-menopausal bleeding is the same in Fife. Unfortunately, I know from experience. Fortunately, I got three clear biopsies, each several months apart.

ETA That was prior to the breast scare and all on the NHS. The results were all about 3 wks after the biopsy was taken, ISTR.

Three weeks is the worst case scenario, they’re just managing expectations. The general rule to remember with NHS test results is that no news is good news. You’ll hear from them much sooner than 3 weeks if they see anything that needs investigating

But most people will never pay in what they take out 🤷‍♀️

I've had some tests done privately recently and the tests didn't come back instantly, there was still a wait of a few weeks

And many more will never take out what they pay in.

Its a routine scan. Why are you getting your knickers in a twist about it?

your NI pays for pension and healthcare, so its free at point of use

I have a friend in US who has insurance but is paying out of pocket for healthcare $20k a year as their son has a life limiting condition. The insurance will not cover all the expenses. Whereas our family member is receiving the same care for free at pint of use, no extras, not having to wait for treatment to be agreed by the healthcare insurance