The BBC has reported that England’s health ombudsman has warned that failure to interpret medical scans are leading to avoidable patient deaths and delays in diagnosing cancer. Read more here https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdjykmlr2vwo
The Ombudsman revealed the following issues with radiology services within the NHS:
- A failure to investigate abnormalities
- Scans being delayed
- Failure to follow up on results timeously
- Delays in surgery
NHS England staff have acknowledged that the response to serious health issues can be improved to avoid the same mistakes again.
In many cases, cancers are being missed or incorrectly identified as benign (non-cancerous) – despite repeated scans suggesting otherwise.
An independent team investigating complaints said that each of the cases that has been investigated represents a real person whose life has been impacted by failings in care.
Changes to be made by the NHS include opening more Community Diagnostic Centres (CDCs), using new technology like AI for patient care. It is hoped that the changes being introduced to cancer care will speed up diagnosis within 4 weeks, and allow more patients to start their treatment within 2 months each year.
Nafeesa Khan - Paralegal Consultant from MDS, said “We can achieve more when we learn from past mistakes”
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