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?

The NHS is not free.

If symptoms suggest cancer you should be seen within 2 weeks. I was seen in a lot less time than that.

The NHS care I have received has been prompt, excellent and compassionate. This isnt universal. However, i think people who have good experiences are less likely to post. Many people like me do have good care. I am very glad we have the NHS and that I received the care and treatment I did.

Routine checks are not as speedy. Please dont be anxious. The likelihood is everything is fine.

Is this part of the screening service? I mean, I get why you might be keen to find out the result, but surely if you don’t have a current issue, then your anxiety is a bit out of proportion to the situation. Anyone with a breast lump is normally referred to the hospital (2 week wait is the expected time, but not always achievable) and women are often sent to a ‘one stop shop’ where they get all their tests done, with results the same day (apart from grading and staging in the event of it being cancer.) That’s what happened with my mum and it’s generally very efficient. I reckon routine screening can afford to take a bit of a back seat.

Didn’t even have to read the comments to know these would be here. I absolutely hate the society we live in now :)

I completely understand how this wait has made you feel and I hope you receive the positive news you deserve.

Rubbish, most pat in far more than they get out of it! By the time I retire I will have paid over £240,000 in NI contributions! My biggest cost to the NHS was having a baby which is around £20,000 if I had to pay and £7000 for gall bladder removal and probably another £4000 for smears mammogram med etc. On top of that maybe a GP appointment once a year, so I’ve definitely put in more than I’ve used the NHS for!

Not free - paid for through our taxes and NI.

I work for the Breast Screening Programme in the UK and we tell ladies that it can take up to 2 weeks for their results, but it doesn’t always take as long as that, it’s generally the post being so bad at the moment which can delay results. Or sometimes if we have staffing issues, as there is a huge issue in that area at the moment. There is a national shortage of radiographers and we in the admin office are also extremely short staffed. Mammograms have to be read by two different radiologists who both have to agree on the results before we can send out a routine recall (normal) letter so that can take a few days. It needs to be thorough. There are hundreds of women being screened a week.

If it's routine then why are you nervous? Fair enough if you'd found a lump but for a routine check why does it matter how long it takes? I forgot to check my results for a recent routine test until 2 months later when I suddenly remembered I'd had it done

OP, kindly, you are getting this out of proportion. It's a routine scan with no indication you have anything wrong. If there was anything major they would have called you by now.

I went for a routine screening mammogram at 4pm on Sept 1st 2021. I got a phone recall the next morning at 9am, asking me to be there that afternoon. Another scan, biopsy, and they told me there and then, I had cancer and would need surgery. 19 days wait for the meeting with the consultant surgeon, then 23 more days wait for surgery on the 13th Oct, home on the 14th. Then into chemo & radio etc. I'm clear now because of their quick responses.

Honestly, if they find anything, they don't hang about. You will be prioritised if there is clinical need.

Now go for a long walk in some woods or green fields, look at the beauty of nature and breathe. xx

The NHS is a victim of its own success - people expect more and more from it and it is limited in £. When it was founded people were not living to the age they do now!

The US is not a healthcare system to strive for - I wouldnt live there even without DT in charge :(

I would try to assume that no news is good news and stay positive.
In future, if you can afford it go private - Bupa etc . Be wary though, there are lots of hidden extras !

Excellent - but if you had a car crash tomorrow and spent 5 weeks on ICU 3/4 operations followed by 9 months of rehabilitation - it would cost a lot more than £240,000 you've put in and in reality that is what happens to 20,000 people each year

What did you expect! You were clearly expecting the sympathy vote. It costs around £200 for a mammogram so if you didn’t want to wait a few weeks you could have paid privately!
why don’t you ask your colleague how many people in the US declare themselves bankrupt due to healthcare costs? I save you the trouble last year it was 500,000! So yes you do need to shut up!

It’s not free. I will pay approx £50k in tax and NI this year. As it happens I get a yearly mammogram through work. The results generally come back within a couple of days.

I'm sorry if this sounds harsh, but I honestly feel people need to calm down about waiting for test results. Whether you know now or in 10 days' time it doesn't change the result. Just have the test, and put it out of your mind until the day they are due which you can mark on a calendar so you don't forget to look them up. Yes I've had similar tests, including for cancer, but there is no point getting worked up. If you want them more quickly then go private. Good luck with your results, I hope everything is fine.

We can't actually afford our current healthcare model and the state pensions. The vast majority do not pay enough in taxes.

The OP has had a bit of a hard time here. I have noticed lots of posters on here appear to take pleasure in deriding anyone experiencing anxiety they personally deem not to be justified ("why are you getting your knickers in a twist!" 🥴) As if the poster will say: oh thanks, yes, you're right I'm not worried any more!

Its obvious the OP was not criticising the individuals who work in the NHS so I don't know why some people have gone down the route of arguing against a point she wasn't making.

OP I understand where you're coming from, once you have the scan you know there is the POTENTIAL for you to be told that something is wrong and that's where the anxiety arises. It's a lack of control during the waiting phase. I'm not old enough to qualify for routine mammograms but I get anxious waiting for smear results even though I've never had an abnormal one.

Sadly we all know the NHS is overstretched and underfunded. I'm not sure what the wait would or could be in an optimally functioning system. But you are not wrong for questioning whether things could be improved for the benefit of everyone.

I think the use of the word 'cruel' in the post title is unfortunate and has hampered any chance of sensible debate. Also the mention of the US system as a point of comparison, as it's so easy to point out its many flaws. But there are many middle ground options between the UK and US that would work better than both.

I got diagnosed of cancer there and then after a routine colonoscopy. (Checking for ibs) the tumour was huge and dr google gave me terminal diagnosis. I then had to wait almost 2 months thinking I was dying and getting all my things in order (it’s how I coped) although the bonus of this is that I realised I had blimin good life insurance my ex set up about 20 years ago. Had the wait for all the experts to get together to discuss before I was informed. I’m stage 3, had op and now on mop up chemo but classed as cancer free (and now living mortgage free thanks to my knob of an ex husband 😂)

I agree with this OP.

I had my first routine mammogram on 23 September, the results letter was dated 6 October - and I got it at the end of that week - so approx 2.5 weeks after the mammogram. My anxiety wasn't high waiting for the result (although I didn't completely forget about it) and I didn't feel it was too long to wait, and that is with a strong history of cancer in the family (my mum died of cancer when I was a child - not breast though). I barely thought about it more in those 2.5 weeks than the preceeding weeks I was waiting for it (I had to push my appointment out by two weeks as I couldn't make the one they booked for me originally).

Your anxiety sounds quite elevated. I would be concerned more about that, and look to see if there is anything you can realistically do about that. I hope you get your results soon and all is well. 💐

What is an unspoken insider bit of knowledge is that if there are concerns on the scan they will phone you really quickly and get you in almost the next day to plan treatment etc.
But if they leave you waiting for weeks, it’s almost certainly fine.
Of course no-one tells you this, and given the state of the NHS you quite reasonably think you might have fallen through the net.
It is very stressful YANBU.

But your NI goes into state pension as well. A fund of about £250k is necessary to generate a £12k pa. state pension.

I've paid about £500k in NI over 40 years and have just crossed into being a net contributor.

@NaiceBalonz why is 3 weeks too long to wait for the result of a screening test? This isn’t a test for someone who has active symptoms and is waiting for diagnosis and treatment. It’s a screening test, so the vast majority will be normal. The few that are abnormal will be picked up within 3 weeks, often less as the sonographer will flag it.

Resources are limited so it makes sense for mammography reporting to be categorised into “screening” and “symptomatic”, with the symptomatic mammograms being fast-tracked. If I had a breast lump I’d be annoyed if my mammogram was at the bottom of a pile of routine mammograms awaiting reporting.

Do you have research based evidence for this please?

I have worked since 1981, mostly as a higher rate tax payer. I've had three NHS births - the first was mismanaged resulting in a prolapsed bladder for which the NHS refused to refer and put right, the second (excellent care) but the baby died which was expected, the third was fine because I'd learnt how to advocate.

Prior to children, I was diagnosed with rampant and serious graves disease, which my NHS GP had dismissed - three times. Sorted privately.

I have had a bad break repaired on the NHS and physio afterwards.

My osteoporosis care is via NHS rheumatology.

The NHS refused to refer my children for grommets.

The NHS, CAMHS, refused my daughter aupporpt when she was cutting. Overdosing and restricting food. She got better because with a combination of BUPA and private money there was £8k to spend on her. She is now a teacher, paying tax, and would not be doing that if left to the NHS.

Whilst I think three weeks is OK for a aroutine mammogram, the NHS is absolutely NOT free and is barely fit for purpose.

Similarly my mother has had one child, one heart op, is 89 and has certainly paid in more than she has taken out.

I'd like to see an NHHs passport that starts at birth and logs what each individual puts in and what they take out.

For a routine mammogram 3 weeks is fine. They priorities those scans that need reviewing and those that are ‘routine’ are completed mostly before 3 weeks.

Mine took 8 days to come back following my scan. My friend unfortunately had to go back for further review she was told on day 5.

These people are working flat out to do their best. Most scans will have a 2nd opinion just to make sure something has not been missed. There are not enough radiographers, for the demand, therefore they prioritise and focus on the need thats in front of them.

You seem well informed but selective in the information you are putting forward and what bearing it has on any discussion about healthcare in the UK.

The per capita spend in the US is more than twice that of the UK and about three times the NHS spend. Does this explain the shorter turn around times on a routine mammogram?

For that type of cost differential I would expect to be chauffeur driven to the clinic and given a glass of champagne whilst I wait for the results.

I had my last mammogram in the post covid recovery and catch up period when they were packing out the waiting rooms. The results came back within a week or two.

Our economy, from all perspectives, cannot afford a US healthcare model. Employers couldn’t afford the cost, workers couldn’t afford the cost and government would still need to fund a huge public service that really can’t get that much cheaper.

I worked for 47 years, paying loads of tax and NIC. I have cost the NHS an absolute fortune over the last 8/9 years. While it is not ‘free’ because, as you say, we contribute, it is still access to everyone. We all have to wait and would of course prefer not to. It’s still a great service.