Patients’ attitude towards travelling for breast services versus waiting longer for local services

Geographical access is a cornerstone of health care provision. However, prolonged waiting for breast clinic appointments in local services results in delayed diagnosis and excessive anxiety for patients. In this study, we present a patient satisfaction survey results of an initiative to offer out-patient clinic appointments for non-urgent patients referred to the breast unit in Letterkenny General Hospital (LGH), Ireland, and exceeded the recommended waiting period of 12 weeks. These patients were offered appointment in University Hospital Galway (UCHG), which is an average travel time of about 3.5-4.5 hours away from LGH. 163 patients out of 336 (48.5%) patients actively waiting more than 12 weeks for appointments in LGH accepted alternative appointments in UCHG. Despite the long travel distance for these patients, 100% of them reported high satisfaction and 97.3% said they would accept further UCHG appointments if a similar situation of prolonged waiting in LGH arises. None of these patients were diagnosed with cancer, and only one had a benign lumpectomy. This study showed that if offered alternative appointments, just under half of the patients would accept. The initiative provides a feasible solution for long waiters, and the survey shows that patients’ satisfaction remains high despite long travel.