Breast cancer patients in the South Eastern Trust have been informed that their first assessment appointments have been postponed due to a new patient record system. It has been discovered that one woman, categorized as a red flag case after feeling a lump, has been waiting seven weeks. In response to the delays, the South Eastern Trust stated that it understood the distressing circumstances it would cause and are offering treatment as quickly as possible, following an assessment.Tthe Department of Health’s target for breast cancer referrals is two weeks. Women over 50 are encouraged to attend regular appointments for mammograms, which can aid in the early detection of breast cancer, and vaccinations have been made widely available to combat the pandemic.
A digital patient record system, encompass, was implemented in November and has since affected the timely attendance to some appointments, causing a backlog of 378 red flag breast patients waiting to be seen in the South Eastern Health Trust. The Trust warned patients that there may be further delays in activity with a full system roll-out for all health trusts in the coming two years. To manage the increase in demand, the South Eastern Health Trust referred patients to other health trusts, sending 119 to the Belfast Trust, 96 to Altnagelvin current Hospital’s triple assessment breast clinic, 40 to the Southern Trust, and 30 to the Northern trust.
MacMillian Support, a cancer advocacy group, expressed the delay as “extremely worrying” when reported, adding, “we should have had safeguarding in place to mitigate against this… we need system transformation, but not at the detriment to people waiting to find out if they have cancer.”
The South-Eastern trust reported that due to an increase in demand compounded by staff shortages, there was a sustained 26% increase in the number of red flag breast referrals since 2020/21. They caution that a red flag referral is not conclusive evidence of cancer, as only an average of 3% of breast assessment patients receive a diagnosis of cancer
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