Susanna Reid has shared that she tried to book a mammogram after admitting Sarah Ferguson’s breast cancer diagnosis was a “wake-up call” for her to make an appointment.
The Duchess of York revealed last week that she was diagnosed with an early form of breast cancer which was detected during a routine mammogram screening.
The 63-year-old recently underwent surgery and was discharged from London’s King Edward VII hospital on Sunday. She is now recovering with her family.
Speaking on Good Morning Britain on Tuesday, Reid reassured viewers that she believes she managed to book an appointment, and urged others to do the same.
She shared: “So, yesterday, I admitted that because I’d received an invitation to a mammogram rather than a mammogram appointment I had done what unfortunately 12,000 other women in London had done and not gone ahead and booked an appointment.
“My excuse was, I just didn’t get round to it, and so yesterday I got round to it.
“Firstly, I went online and looked up where the breast screening services are in my area on the NHS website, rang them up to be told, ‘I’m really sorry, this isn’t the number to ring for your breast screening’, so I thought, ‘Okay.’”
To which her co-host Ed Ball interjected: “That could have put a lot of people off.”
Agreeing with Balls’ observation, she added: “That’s a hurdle!”
Reid then went on to share the other obstacles she faced: “And I said, ‘Well the number is on the website’, and the lovely woman said, ‘Oh I’ll pass that to my manager’, and she gave me another number so I then rang the next number and was told, ‘We can give you an appointment at this hospital,’ and I said, ‘Oh that’s kind of a little bit far away, can I have a nearer one,’ and she said, ‘Well your nearer one is actually outside your NHS area so I’ll have to pass you onto another number.’
“So that was the second hurdle.”
After a third phone call, the 52-year-old was told she couldn’t get an appointment over the phone but would be sent a letter in two weeks with an appointment date set within six weeks.
She said: “So I think I’ve got an appointment. I think I’ve got an appointment but then of course I then have to have an appointment at a convenient time.
“Anyway, all I’m saying is, it is not… it was straightforward enough, just a couple of hurdles in the way.”
After Balls compared the situation to an “issue” that he faced while serving as an MP and screening units were moved, Reid confirmed: “I’ve persevered, I will keep you updated!”
Her attempts come after the ITV star revealed she had not yet booked an appointment but the royal’s diagnosis has acted as a “wake-up call”.
She shared on Monday’s GMB: “I think the reason that she’s open about this is she wants this to be a wake-up call to people.
“I hadn’t realised, that there was a change in policy and screening, around seven months ago, back in September, where appointments used to be sent out for mammograms, now it’s an invitation, apparently, to make an appointment.
“As a result, around, just in London, 12,000 women are estimated to have missed out on breast screenings because of that new open invitations system.
“Now, I received one of those letters, an invitation to go. And, of course, what have I done? Absolutely nothing. I haven’t booked in a mammogram. And I’m 52.
“I absolutely should take that up,” she declared. “I think there will be a lot of women this morning, finding out what has happened to Sarah Ferguson, feeling the same way I did – there isn’t really a firm appointment, I haven’t got time to make one, who will be thinking differently.”
