Seven-week wait for some red flag patients

Some patients who have been red flagged for breast cancer assessments are waiting up to seven weeks to be seen in Northern Ireland.

The target set by Northern Ireland’s devolved Department of Health – which oversees five health and social care trusts – is 14 days.

Mary (not her real name), who was red flagged by her GP last week, told BBC News NI she would have at least a five-week wait to be seen.

She said her doctor was “very apologetic” but could not give her a definitive timescale.

“I don’t know when I’m going to receive a letter that will give me a date,” she told The Nolan Show.

BBC News NI understands that several breast cancer consultants are concerned that waiting times have spiralled since a new regional system for handling referrals was introduced.

The system was criticised for creating a postcode lottery network as, depending on a patient’s address, some were being seen more quickly than others.

Before its introduction, health trusts managed their own red flag referrals.

In May, all red flag referrals in the Western Trust were seen within 14 days, making it one of the better performing trusts at meeting its target.

However, within weeks of the regional system starting, some patients were waiting up to seven weeks, with the latest data showing 250 patients waited more than 14 days for a red flag breast clinic appointment.

More than 1,100 people across Northern Ireland are on a red flag list.

One health trust source told BBC News NI that the regional system was proving too complex to manage, with projections of waiting lists rising to 11 weeks by the end of September.

Mary said she was proactive and had been for regular breast screening appointments so it was “very frustrating” to now be unable to access the services she needs.

She said the delays showed the health system in Northern Ireland was “broken”.

“I’ve felt that from afar but now this is a reality for me because it is impacting on me,” she said.

“I really do feel that actually it’s also a lesser service as women we’re getting.”

Mary has been on hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for a number of years, which she had to stop while she waited for a breast cancer referral.

“My age and the fact that I’m on HRT puts me at the higher risk,” she said.

“So all my symptoms that the HRT was managing, that’s all not in place any more, so you can imagine my sleep, anxiety and everything will be impacted by all this stress. It’s terrible.”

Mary said that, while she realised she “shouldn’t stress” about something she could not control, it was “not a great situation”.

“I’m a mum, I work full time, I cannot afford to let it take over my life but it is a real concern,” she said.

The new red flag initiative was announced in May by Health Minister Mike Nesbitt in response to the “unacceptable” waiting times for breast cancer services in Northern Ireland.

The aim was to enable people from across all the health trusts to access the earliest appointment available to them, no matter where they live.

For instance, patients living in the South Eastern Health Trust have been offered referrals and screening appointments in the Western Health Trust including at the weekend.

Not all patients, however, are able to make that journey or a weekend appointment.

Nesbitt said that it was not acceptable for women in one trust area to have to wait significantly longer to be assessed than women in another trust area “so this will help address the disparities between the trusts”.

As the system has been operating for about three months, others have said it needs time to bed in and that summer leave among medics has also been an issue.

Sources have told the BBC some of the health trusts felt they were in a better position to manage the lists, but as some breast units were better staffed than others, this did not produce an equitable appointment system.

BBC News NI has contacted each of the health trusts and the Department of Health for comment.