'We weren't told about breast screening failure'

Jenny Crossingham only found out her appointment had been cancelled when she saw a note posted on the door of the screening unit

A woman who had a breast cancer check unexpectedly cancelled has described how she only found out from a note pinned to the door of the screening unit.

Jenny Crossingham was one of 7,000 patients affected after the service in Chelmsford and Colchester was suspended for almost two months.

She says she is frustrated at a "lack of transparency" from the NHS and is still waiting for the appointment to be rescheduled.

The East Suffolk and North Essex Foundation Trust (ESNEFT), which runs the units, described it as a technical fault and said the service resumed on Monday morning.

Ms Crossingham, 57, described how she had received a text the day before her appointment in August to say it had been cancelled due to equipment failure.

Another appointment was made but when she arrived at the mobile screening unit at Melbourne sports centre in Chelmsford on 19 September, there was a piece of paper pinned to the door to say it was closed.

"When I called back they said 'Actually it's not been working for a while due to this technical problem'," she explained.

"What I don't understand is why they hadn't communicated this in the first place?".

ESNEFT said it would look into this.

"I am concerned - I'm getting older now and as we get older I'm more likely to have breast lumps," she told BBC Essex.

"I just would like to know when I'm going to get this appointment so I don't have to worry and it will be resolved."

Apology

According to the trust, software and technical problems followed the introduction of a new system for imaging and radiography on 10 August.

The picture archiving communications system, known as PACS, allows teams to see older X-rays and scans and compare them with new images.

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

A spokesman for ESNEFT said: "All the breast screening units are up and running in Colchester and Chelmsford.

"We are very sorry if anyone missed having the notification of their breast screening appointment being changed and [we] will look into the circumstances."

Mobile units were unable to conduct routine examinations due to the software problem

Ms Crossingham pointed out that she and other women also had screenings interrupted during the Covid-19 pandemic.

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

"I dread to think what sort of backlog this has created, or what the clinical repercussions may be," she added.