Executive Summary

In August 2009, the Society of Radiographers (SoR) surveyed members carrying out breast screening in the UK about nominal appointment lengths. Over 200 respondents answered a range of questions in an online questionnaire about how much time they have per client, their workload and the effects of setting nominal appointment lengths. This document presents an analysis of the survey and the following bullet points highlight the main findings:

• Most respondents are expected to spend 6 minutes with each client to be screened, although for 4 respondents this was as low as 3 minutes or less. When asked how much time they felt should be allowed for each appointment, 59% of respondents felt they needed more than 6 minutes per appointment.
• Respondents largely agreed that setting nominal screening appointment lengths is necessary to meet screening targets. 56% consider their departments to be short-staffed. In addition, over half of all respondents think that pressure to complete appointments within a set time negatively affects their morale, with 47% saying it negatively affects their health.
• Many examples were given of situations where clients require more than the nominal appointment length. Some respondents commented that unless additional time is pre-booked, extending appointments has a knock-on effect on other clients or members of staff. Some respondents commented that breast screening resembles a production line or conveyor belt.
• The average respondent spends 2-3 days in breast screening each week, seeing on average 20-30 clients per day.

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