Ten-day waiting limit for breast cancer patients (From Western Telegraph)

Ten-day waiting limit for breast cancer patients

No woman living in Pembrokeshire should in future have to wait more than ten days to see a specialist.

It has not been uncommon for women with breast abnormalities to wait for up to three weeks to be seen by a consultant after being referred by their GP, according to Christine Wales, who underwent surgery for breast cancer.

Christine, a staff nurse at South Pembrokeshire Hospital, was fortunate. Within two weeks of discovering a lump she had surgery at Prince Philip Hospital, in Llanelli.

"I was lucky. I only had to wait a day to see the consultant, Mr Holt, and had my test results within 48 hours. I know a lot of women who have had to wait two or three weeks,'' said Christine, of North Norton, Manorbier.

She has been encouraged to talk about her own experience after a Government commitment that all women with breast problems will see a specialist within two weeks.

The commitment followed the so-called Breakthrough Breast Cancer Conversation with health secretary, Dr John Reid.

"He listened to women with personal experiences of breast cancer talk about how devastating waiting for diagnosis can be,'' said Christine.

"The members, who attended the meeting, lobbied so convincingly that the Government made this commitment. Breakthrough has worked hard to communicate to all politicians, this is a great step forward.''

The Pembrokeshire and Derwen NHS Trust said that the target for patients in this category is to be seen by a specialist within ten days from referral.

"At Withybush, there is a one-stop breast clinic and, in the majority of cases, patients are seen and diagnosed on that day,'' said a Trust spokeswoman.

"For a small percentage of patients, further investigations are sometimes required for a diagnosis to be confirmed.''