Patients praise Havant clinic which aims to make breast screenings more accessible

The satellite clinic is part of a programme at Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust which offers patients a greater range of tests closer to home and has improved facilities for those with disabilities.

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Pauline Broad, 68, said: ‘Having attended there before the centre is easy to find and there is plenty of parking available. The premises were spotless and made me feel very safe.

‘The signage was plentiful and access to Breast Imaging was clearly visible. On arrival I was greeted by a lovely radiographer, Ruth, who put me completely at ease and explained the procedure. Ruth was very caring and made me feel reassured, so the whole experience was very positive and I would not hesitate to use this service again.’

Oak Park Community Clinic is part of south east Hampshire’s Community Diagnostic Centre programme, which received a share of the £350 million national investment fund in 2021 to enable a larger capacity of tests and scans to help speed up diagnoses.

Wendy Rundle, 60, from Havant added: ‘It was very close to my home and workplace so it was the perfect location for me. The staff were very friendly and professional and made me feel at ease.’

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Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust chief operating officer Chris Evans said: ‘It is fantastic to see patients benefiting from having their mammograms closer to home. The Community Diagnostic programme means more accessible and convenient services for our patients. The additional capacity is supporting faster diagnosis whilst helping us to improve outcomes for people with cancer and other serious conditions in addition to avoiding people having to come to the hospital site.’

PHU breast superintendent radiographer Vicky Bremner said: ‘We know coming into hospital for screening can be more worrying for some people and having this clinic in a community setting helps support more people to come along and attend their mammography appointment. ‘The additional-time clinics also mean we can provide extra support to our patients with physical and learning disabilities and having the department on the ground floor also gives easy access for them and any carers.’