NHS Unacceptable Records ‘Mix-Up’
It has been estimated this morning, that more than 500,000 pieces of patient data between GPs and hospitals went undelivered between 2011 and 2016.
The data lost is suspected to include cancer test results, blood test results and treatment plans which failed to reach their intended recipient. It is alleged the correspondence was mistakenly delivered to NHS storage facilities where it has stayed for up to 5 years. The impact of the news could be catastrophic for some people and the NHS has said to have launched a ‘quiet’ investigation into how many patients the failure may have impacted. At present the figure is said to be in the region of 2,500 potentially affected patients.
It has been reported that the British Medical Association warned that some patients might have taken extra drugs unnecessarily, or had the diagnosis of their illness seriously delayed. The regions said to have been affected are the East Midlands, the South West and North-East London.
A delay in diagnosis of any condition can cause permanent irrevocable damage. In some situations, time truly is of the essence as we are all too aware in many of our oncology and spinal damage cases.
If you think you may have been affected and you have failed to receive results from your GP, it would be advisable to contact your surgery as soon as possible. If you or someone you know has any concerns about how your health has been managed or if you believe there has been a delay in diagnosing or treating your medical condition then Wolferstans’ Clinical Negligence specialists can sensitively discuss and deal with this for you. If you would like to have a free initial discussion without any obligation then please phone Jodie O’Connor on 01752 292360 or email her by clicking here.