Male health workers should be allowed to perform breast screening examinations to help relieve staff shortages, says Britain’s Society of Radiographers (SoR), which has called for a change in policy due to “critical” staff shortages in this specialist area.
A mammogram is the only health examination carried out exclusively by female staff, reports the BBC.
According to radiographers, the vacancy rate among mammographers who specialise in breast exams is 17.5%. Among mammographers who assess women who have found a lump in their breast or have a family history of breast cancer, the figure is 20%.
It takes three to four years to qualify as a radiographer through a university degree.
Changes to staffing were being discussed at the annual SoR conference, with discussions also taking place over whether transgender men should be included in the NHS breast screening programme.
Sue Johnson, who represents the SoR, told the BBC: “The role of the radiographer has developed and evolved and there is a much broader scope to the job role than simply taking the images.
“It’s a very desirable and enjoyable career and men are saying, ‘we would like to access that same career and we could help deliver the service’.”
Johnson believes this could help with the recruitment of more radiographers and open up the job to more qualified people.
The prospect of men performing mammograms has been explored unsuccessfully in the past, but Johnson said “the world has changed” and that “the time is right” to start reconsidering the role.
Women would still be given a choice on who conducted their mammogram if they didn’t feel comfortable with a man doing it, she added.
However, Claire Rowney, chief executive of charity Breast Cancer Now, said it’s vital that efforts to build up the screening workforce “do not inadvertently damage uptake of breast screening”.
“While we welcome every effort to reduce staff shortages and delays in breast screening, we know that concerns about being seen by a male mammographer already deter some women from attending breast screening, even with current staffing being all-female.”
Recruiting male mammographers could also be an issue for some women in ethnic minority communities, who may have greater concerns around preserving their modesty and who may be less likely to take up the offer of screening, she adds.
BBC article – ‘Men should help carry out mammograms’ – experts (Open access)
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