IOM DHSC & MANX CARE

[Zulu]

Manx Care's statement just put out regarding the mammogram programme!

Manx Care

oetnpsodSral245m7gi6c0m4h65glff9304tucuaflh12t2ifh3mfi131175  · 

 

Following last week’s statement (Friday 10 February 2023) regarding the temporary suspension of the Isle of Man Breast Screening Programme, please see the below update.

Breast screening has been paused while Island systems are updated and linked with a UK monitoring programme. Services are expected to resume by 24 February 2023.

The Isle of Man Breast Screening Programme is based in the Manx Breast Unit and invites women aged between 50 and 70 to attend a breast screening appointment every two years. The appointment involves a woman having two or more X-rays taken of each breast by a specialist imaging unit. The images produced are mammograms. These mammogram images are sent through secure electronic link to the Greater Manchester Breast Screening Programme team based at Wythenshawe Hospital where specialist Breast Screening Radiologists and Advanced Mammographers view all our mammograms to look for abnormalities which may require further investigation such as further imaging or biopsy. Within the Manchester programme, all mammograms are reported by two Radiologists/Advanced Mammographers – where there is an image with an abnormality detected by one or both of the clinicians, they discuss the image together in a process known as ‘consensus’ where agreement is reached around the abnormality. The details of the abnormality is documented on the image and documentation is completed and sent back to the Isle of Man Breast Screening Team where a further appointment can be made in the Manx Breast Unit and more investigations undertaken.

Approximately 10% of women undergoing breast screening will require additional tests – this does not mean that they have cancer but they require further examinations to exclude cancer. Approximately 0.5% of women screened will have cancer.

As you can see from this outline of the process, traditionally the Isle of Man programme has not been involved in the process of breast screening mammogram reporting, and this has taken place solely in Manchester with information being passed to the Manx Breast Unit team if a lady needed to be recalled for further investigations.

Manx Care’s new Consultant Breast Radiologist has requested that the Isle of Man Programme become part of the mammogram reporting process alongside a second Breast Radiologist based in Manchester, so that any woman who is recalled for further investigations will have had her initial mammogram reported by the Radiologist who is seeing the patient for further investigations, such as a biopsy. This would ensure that our programme adheres more closely with best practice as detailed by the NHS National Breast Screening Programme and the Royal College of Radiologists.

For this reason, Manx Care has temporarily suspended the Breast Screening Programme so that arrangements to allow this to happen can be made, such as the linking up of our Mammography systems. Although the decision to suspend Breast Screening has been a difficult one, Manx Care is of the view that the benefit that the new arrangements will afford the women who will be recalled outweighs the temporary suspension of the service.

Manx Care anticipates these revised contractual and clinical arrangements with the Greater Manchester Breast Screening Programme (GM BSP) will be in place no later than Friday 24 February so that breast screening can recommence the following week, however Manx Care is in daily contact with the Manchester Breast Screening Team to progress the new arrangements and will recommence as soon as the arrangements are finalised.

Any women who require a recall appointment based on a recent assessment will be contacted shortly to have this diarised in Manchester, with all travel arranged for them.

Currently we screen around 150 women per week, however plans are being put in place to catch up with the programme by the end of March through provision of additional clinics within the Manx Breast Unit.

Please contact the Manx Care Advice and Liaison Service (MCALS) if you have any queries or concerns, on mcals@gov.im or 01624 642642.

 

 

 

All reactions:

55

 

[Roger Mexico]

25 minutes ago, Moghrey Mie said:

Manx Care suspends service until further notice

'Routine breast screening on the Isle of Man has been stopped and Manx Care says it doesn’t know when it will restart.

No appointments will be made whilst ‘updates are made to the programme’ and it is ‘as yet unknown’ when things will go back to normal.

The service automatically invites women aged between 50 and 70 for screening.

Symptomatic breast clinics are unaffected and will continue to run as normal – anyone who is due to have a routine two-yearly screening mammogram will also receive an invitation in due course.

People who feel they have a problem are being urged to contact their GP or the Breast Screening Team on 642570.

Manx Radio has approached Manx Care for comment - the station has been told the health body has no more detail to add.'

 

It would have been much better if Manx Care had given an explanation of what was happening.

 

That's pretty much just copying what was the Manx Care press release, which has now appeared on the government website dated Friday (though it wasn't there when I checked 9pm on Friday evening).  There was no further information given and no one the media could contact.  A health service is a 24/7 operation, but those running seem to consider that 7/5 is all they need to put in - which makes you wonder how vital their contribution is even when they are there.

If this decision was made in the way that is now being stated, then communication to the public (this is a screening programme so the public are effectively the patients) should have been part of the whole plan along with explaining the reasons why this is an improvement and the way the transition is being managed.  Instead they just seen to indignant that anyone should even ask what is going on.

[Moghrey Mie]

14 minutes ago, Roger Mexico said:

That's pretty much just copying what was the Manx Care press release, which has now appeared on the government website dated Friday (though it wasn't there when I checked 9pm on Friday evening).  There was no further information given and no one the media could contact.  A health service is a 24/7 operation, but those running seem to consider that 7/5 is all they need to put in - which makes you wonder how vital their contribution is even when they are there.

If this decision was made in the way that is now being stated, then communication to the public (this is a screening programme so the public are effectively the patients) should have been part of the whole plan along with explaining the reasons why this is an improvement and the way the transition is being managed.  Instead they just seen to indignant that anyone should even ask what is going on.

So they did know when it was going to resume.

[cissolt]

15 minutes ago, Moghrey Mie said:

So they did know when it was going to resume.

All they needed was a proper press release, instead of a half arsed end of day Friday special 

[Roger Mexico]

8 minutes ago, Moghrey Mie said:

So they did know when it was going to resume.

Not completely judging from the Facebook post (which I hadn't seen when I posted) which includes this:

Manx Care anticipates these revised contractual and clinical arrangements with the Greater Manchester Breast Screening Programme (GM BSP) will be in place no later than Friday 24 February so that breast screening can recommence the following week, however Manx Care is in daily contact with the Manchester Breast Screening Team to progress the new arrangements and will recommence as soon as the arrangements are finalised.

Which suggests that all the paperwork hasn't been finalised, even yet, despite them ceasing the old service on 1st February (according to Hooper).  As so often it looks like management making a decision without bothering to think the details of implementation or timing through.

[Cinderella]

20 minutes ago, Moghrey Mie said:

So they did know when it was going to resume.

Or they have been scrambling over last few days when people complained that suspending the service (with no explanation or date of resumption) was not on. What a c*ck up.

[Cinderella]

6 minutes ago, cissolt said:

All they needed was a proper press release, instead of a half arsed end of day Friday special 

And the Manx public need a half decent radio/news service that asks obvious questions - not just publishing stuff verbatim

[Roger Mexico]

14 minutes ago, Cinderella said:

And the Manx public need a half decent radio/news service that asks obvious questions - not just publishing stuff verbatim

To be fair to Manx Radio in this case they made it clear that they tried to contact someone (as no doubt did other news organisations).  The fact that nothing more came out till Tuesday - and that only prompted by a Tynwald question - is hardly their fault.  It would have been more irresponsible not to report what they knew, even if it was incomplete and especially as it appears Manx Care were already sending out letters to women cancelling appointments.

[John Wright]

28 minutes ago, Cinderella said:

And the Manx public need a half decent radio/news service that asks obvious questions - not just publishing stuff verbatim

There is a problem with that, in this case. Press released at 6pm Friday. No one answering phones in MC, IoMG media office etc.

The fault here lies fairly and squarely with MC. They shouldn’t have stopped current testing or made the announcement, until they had the replacement in place.

They've created unnecessary alarm, caused panic, and are being criticised, rightly, for poor communication.

So this episode will be remembered for this rather than the relaunch of a new improved service. Own goal. Missed opportunity. Prime example of how not to manage news.

[Zarley]

7 minutes ago, John Wright said:

The fault here lies fairly and squarely with MC. They shouldn’t have stopped current testing or made the announcement, until they had the replacement in place. 

They've created unnecessary alarm, caused panic, and are being criticised, rightly, for poor communication.

This will likely also cause an unnecessary back-log in the screening service.

Wonderful. 

[John Wright]

10 minutes ago, Zarley said:

This will likely also cause an unnecessary back-log in the screening service.

Wonderful. 

They claim they’ll have caught up by end March. We shall see.

Looks like a decent initiative poorly handled

[Moghrey Mie]

Latest Board Meeting of Manx Care.

 

[WTF]

fucking hell ,  try counting the er's and um's  ,  must be camera shy.

[MrGarrison]

46 minutes ago, Moghrey Mie said:

Latest Board Meeting of Manx Care.

 

FFS Nigel Wood the worlds shiftiest man. How on earth does he get on Manx Care?

[CallMeCurious]

This always happens, a new consultant comes in and wants to make their mark. Will leave in a year or two and the next one will come in and want it their way. The fact that this couldn't have been phased in by just reducing the service level for a period kinda tells you how effective management is at dealing with this type of stuff.

A knee jerk reaction makes it worse for all when they can't even compose a decent press release in advance.
Maybe we ought to have two stats from Manx Care. How many appointments are wasted by no shows and how many are cancelled or changed by them. Fairs, fair after all.