Chesterfield Royal Hospital 'incredibly sorry' over mum's wait for breast cancer appointment

A Chesterfield mum has been left feeling ‘anxious’ and ‘unable to sleep’ after being told she must wait more than three weeks for a hospital breast cancer appointment.
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The 43-year-old woman, who works for the NHS and has asked not be named, was referred to Chesterfield Royal Hospital by her GP surgery on September 14.

She should have been seen by September 27 under national two-week referral guidance, but has been given an appointment date of October 8.

A 43-year-old woman says she has been unable to get a breast cancer appointment at Chesterfield Royal Hospital for over two weeks.A 43-year-old woman says she has been unable to get a breast cancer appointment at Chesterfield Royal Hospital for over two weeks.
A 43-year-old woman says she has been unable to get a breast cancer appointment at Chesterfield Royal Hospital for over two weeks.
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It comes as the Breast Cancer Now charity revealed almost one million breast screening appointments have been missed in the UK due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Chesterfield woman, who has grown-up children, said: “I found the lump on the September 13 and I spoke to Calow and Brimington Practice on the morning of September 14 and was seen within a couple of hours. They have been fantastic.

“I am anxious, finding it hard to concentrate and sleep at night as it is always at the back of my mind.

"The hospital appointments team keep saying you will be seen but that isn't helpful when you are worried.”

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A spokesperson for Chesterfield Royal Hospital said she ‘completely understood’ the woman’s anxiety and the hospital was ‘incredibly sorry she is currently in this position’.

"We are doing everything we can to address the challenges of restoring our services to full capacity, whilst balancing the need to keep patients safe and protected from the risk of Covid-19,” she said.

"We are complying with national guidance, which means putting social distancing measures into all our clinics, along with additional infection prevention policies, such as longer environmental cleans in-between each patient.

"Consequently our clinic capacity each day is reduced and some patients have waited longer to come to hospital to be seen.

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“To help to get back on track, our breast cancer medical and nursing teams are hosting additional clinics during the week and reviewing any options that might enable them to see more people in the course of one day.

"We apologise to this lady for missing the two-week wait she rightly feels she is entitled to receive and that we strive to deliver.”

The spokesperson said hospital staff had now spoken to the woman to ‘apologise directly’.

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