Breast screening glitch affects 7,000 women

Mobile units have been unable to conduct routine examinations due to a software problem

Thousands of women have been affected after breast cancer screening services across parts of Essex were suspended for almost two months, the BBC can reveal.

Vans and units covering Colchester and Chelmsford have been out of action since early August due to a "technical issue".

Chelmsford Liberal Democrat MP Marie Goldman described the situation as "simply not good enough".

The East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Trust (ESNEFT), which runs the service, said the issue had been sorted and it would resume on Monday, 6 October. It added that 7,000 women would be offered new appointments.

In England, routine breast screening is currently offered to women aged 50 up to their 71st birthday.

Problems with a Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) were blamed for the suspension of services. It enabled staff to compare new mammograms with older images.

Backlog concerns

Women said they had tried to book an appointment but were told they could not do so.

One described having her session rescheduled for the following day, only to find a note on the door saying it had been cancelled when she arrived.

Christine Rhodes from Chelmsford said she had tried to book on four occasions, only to be told no appointments were being taken.

"My local online community group is awash with concerned ladies who want to do the right thing but are being prevented from doing so," she said.

Ms Rhodes continued: "We are talking about a condition which can develop rapidly and could be fatal. If this unit is ever repaired, the waiting list for screening is going to stretch to many months. How many lives are going to be put at risk?"

Marie Goldman MP said the situation "simply isn't good enough"

Goldman said it was "disappointing that there appeared to have been no contingency plans for a failed software implementation".

"I dread to think what sort of backlog this has created, or what the clinical repercussions may be. I'm afraid this simply isn't good enough," she continued.

Healthwatch Essex said it could take a lot of courage to book an appointment.

"Services cancelling appointments adds another barrier, meaning that some people might not get the screening or treatment they need," it added.

Anyone with concerns should contact them on 0300 500 1895 or visit their website, it said.

ESNEFT said in a statement that it was "very sorry for these technical issues, which have now been resolved" and that "around 7,000 patients will be offered new appointments following the cancellation of their original screening invitation".

"We do have a recovery plan in place and are committed to seeing all of the patients who have had their appointments for routine breast screening paused as soon as we can," it added.