A teacher from Glasgow has been left waiting more than seven months for a cancer screening that should have been arranged within eight weeks.
Rachel Lees told the Record she was enraged by the length of time it has taken NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) to set a date for a colposcopy - a routine procedure normally undertaken to prevent cervical cancer.
She was told by one staff member she could be waiting up to a year for the procedure due to the number of other people waiting to be seen.
The 33-year-old, from Knightswood, has for several years returned abnormal cervical screening results- meaning she has to attend annual screening appointments with her GP.
On one previous occasion she was referred for colposcopy for further cell examination at Stobhill Hospital.
Her latest screening result in December 2020 resulted in her being told by letter she would be referred for a second time for colposcopy - with an appointment being fixed within eight weeks.
Rachel said: "Eight weeks passed by, with no appointment.
"As advised on the letter, I phoned to chase up the appointment. I was told there was a further delay and I should phone back if I hadn’t received it in a month - this was in February.
"As advised, I phoned again after a month. This time I had an individual on the phone who mocked the idea that I would have an appointment by now."
Scottish Labour said it was an example of the cancer backlog crisis gripping the health service in Scotland.
The number of Scots diagnosed with cancer and moving on to treatment dropped by thousands during the last year as the health service switched its focus to fighting coronavirus.
Rachel said, based on previous experience, she knows it is "unlikely" a second colposcopy will find cancer when she finally gets an appointment.
But she added: "I have already waited 30 weeks but, incredibly, it seems I will have at least another 52 to wait. By then, I will have my yearly smear test at my GP again, without getting anywhere near a colposcopy procedure to investigate the cell changes identified in the smear examination from last year.
"It is a joke. Women in Scotland deserve better than this. Women in Scotland will develop preventable cancers because of the delay.
"Women in Scotland are going to die needlessly because of the delay."
Scottish Labour health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie said: “This is a deeply distressing and worrying case which illustrates the scale of the cancer backlog crisis now facing the NHS.
“Rachel Lees, her family and thousands of others are waiting for months and months for tests and follow up procedures, living in fear and sometimes in pain.
“The longer the delay for tests and treatment, the higher the chance of adverse outcomes. We cannot turn a blind eye to the plight of thousands who are waiting for urgent tests and treatment.
“Scottish Labour has been raising the alarm about the cancer backlog for over a year, but we are yet to see effective plans from the SNP to tackle it.
“We need to see diagnostics and screening efforts ramped up immediately, together with follow up procedures if any concern is detected.
“Fixing cancer care remains a national mission for Labour and we will continue to hold the government to account on this most vital issue.
“Lives are on the line – there is no time left to waste.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “We know how important it is that patients are seen as soon as possible and we understand how delay can put strain on them and their families. We would offer our apology to people who are experiencing this.
“As NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde have said, all urgent colposcopy referrals are carried out within two weeks and these take priority over cases which are assessed as non-urgent.
"Excessively long waits for non-urgent referrals are not acceptable and we would expect boards to address these as quickly as possible.
“Across Scotland, health boards are continuing to prioritise new patients being referred with a suspicion of cancer while actively working through any backlogs that have emerged during the pandemic.
"This is closely monitored through weekly performance meetings with officials and reflected in health boards’ remobilisation Plans.
“Last year, we provided nearly £1 million to support both sample-taking and colposcopy services across Scotland of which £120,000 was identified for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.”
A spokesman for NHSGGC said: “We are sorry for any anxiety caused to Mrs Lee through waiting times.
"Across NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde we are working hard to recover services in the context of Covid-19 and to ensure all patients are seen as quickly as possible.
“While we are unable to comment on the details of individual cases, as part of our prioritisation protocol, all cases are reviewed by clinicians who advise whether or not patients should be categorised as routine or urgent.
"We can confirm all urgent colposcopy patients continue to be seen within two weeks.
“As a Health Board, we do appreciate the impact delays to routine appointments can have on a patient and we are sorry that waiting times are longer than we would like them to be.
"We are working extremely hard to reduce these times, and have launched additional clinics within this particular service, and expect the current waiting time for routine appointments to improve in coming months.
“We would advise any routine appointment patient with concerns about their condition deteriorating, to approach their GP for further advice and support in the first instance.”
