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Cancer doctor misread scans
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A doctor responsible for carrying out breast cancer scans misread 28 results, a report says.
The mistakes have led to a review of almost 2,500 mammograms, amid fears that more may have been flawed.
Criticism has been directed at Trafford NHS Trust in Greater Manchester where the doctor worked and questions have been raised about whether the mistakes should have been identified earlier.
Do you think that the NHS should do more about identifying irresponsible or unprofessional behaviour?
The mistakes have led to a review of almost 2,500 mammograms, amid fears that more may have been flawed.
Criticism has been directed at Trafford NHS Trust in Greater Manchester where the doctor worked and questions have been raised about whether the mistakes should have been identified earlier.
Do you think that the NHS should do more about identifying irresponsible or unprofessional behaviour?
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They should do morwe about training the darn doctors to get it right, no good waiting to point the finger at some fool when the patients he neglected to diagnose correctly are dead is it?
All doctors are insured as isd their employer, over malpractise, no point trying to do anything about it from that angle.
All doctors are insured as isd their employer, over malpractise, no point trying to do anything about it from that angle.
so... was he the only one looking at the scans? I thought usually the radiographer looks at them too and writes the results down to be confirmed.
and the NHS won't do more to identify poor staff.... they'll just pass the buck along and then give an empty apology.
I do hope they get sued.
It's not the first time and nor will it be the last.
The biggest cervical cancer scandal of recent times broke at the Kent and Canterbury hospital in 1996 when the smear tests of 91,000 women were recalled, eight women died and 30 had hysterectomies. More than 50 compensation cases have been settled.
and it goes on :-(
Go private if you can just for tests and then use the NHS for treatment if you dare.......
and the NHS won't do more to identify poor staff.... they'll just pass the buck along and then give an empty apology.
I do hope they get sued.
It's not the first time and nor will it be the last.
The biggest cervical cancer scandal of recent times broke at the Kent and Canterbury hospital in 1996 when the smear tests of 91,000 women were recalled, eight women died and 30 had hysterectomies. More than 50 compensation cases have been settled.
and it goes on :-(
Go private if you can just for tests and then use the NHS for treatment if you dare.......
Oh well done AB. An imflammatory question if ever I read one.
Firstly, it's about time the general population stopped haranguing doctors. They are, like us, only human and they are not infallible. We are so reliant upon modern medicine to cure all our ills that we forget that only 50 years ago there were virtually no diagnoses, let alone cures or treatment, for some of the most common forms of illness.
As for suggesting that the NHS gets sued ~ just how in the hell will that help? It will do nothing but drain money from an already empty pot, money that coud be better used to provide more resources, more staff, better training, etc. More people = less tired eyes, less stress and less pressure. Result? Better care. Any half decent manager knows a tired workforce (in whatever circumstances) is less productive and more prone to errors.
This is why there is an EU working hours directive.
Suing is such a dumb solution.
Firstly, it's about time the general population stopped haranguing doctors. They are, like us, only human and they are not infallible. We are so reliant upon modern medicine to cure all our ills that we forget that only 50 years ago there were virtually no diagnoses, let alone cures or treatment, for some of the most common forms of illness.
As for suggesting that the NHS gets sued ~ just how in the hell will that help? It will do nothing but drain money from an already empty pot, money that coud be better used to provide more resources, more staff, better training, etc. More people = less tired eyes, less stress and less pressure. Result? Better care. Any half decent manager knows a tired workforce (in whatever circumstances) is less productive and more prone to errors.
This is why there is an EU working hours directive.
Suing is such a dumb solution.
that is why they have insurance samuel. We are to trust that a simple test and results are read properly.
You see..... there is plenty of room for mistakes when it comes to human life. But money? no room for mistakes there is there?
And then? oh, we're tired.... we're understaffed.... no one loves us? you chose the career!!! and you knew the politics!!! and of course the lucrative private sector.....
BTW, it's called defensive medicine that's practised...and your damned straight there I sue!!!
This is my body and I have to trust these extensively trained people in thie chosen career not to kill me.
HARANGUING DOCTORS? PERLEEESE....
You see..... there is plenty of room for mistakes when it comes to human life. But money? no room for mistakes there is there?
And then? oh, we're tired.... we're understaffed.... no one loves us? you chose the career!!! and you knew the politics!!! and of course the lucrative private sector.....
BTW, it's called defensive medicine that's practised...and your damned straight there I sue!!!
This is my body and I have to trust these extensively trained people in thie chosen career not to kill me.
HARANGUING DOCTORS? PERLEEESE....
sam i agree, with charity fund raising having to supplement the research, equipment and staffing in most breast clinics it is not surprising when these tragedies happen.
I also think that the use of the words 'irresponsible' and 'unprofessional' in the question are wrongly used to describe the doctors behavior, when as said above, there are many many other issues and circumstances that could have led to these misdiagnosis.
I also think that the use of the words 'irresponsible' and 'unprofessional' in the question are wrongly used to describe the doctors behavior, when as said above, there are many many other issues and circumstances that could have led to these misdiagnosis.
-- answer removed --
I think Dot that the Q should refer to the irresponsible and unprofessional behaviour of the managerial team at the hospital trust. If you read the report, it clearly explains that although the doctor can be blamed for the errors, that adding to his failure was the "systematic weaknesses in Trafford NHS Trust".
At the time of his diagnoses, his own colleagues reported concerns about his work. Despite colleagues reporting their fears to bosses in November 2003, he was allowed to continue working for a further 17 months. It emerged hospital staff did not trust his conclusions and would double-check with other radiographers before informing patients of results. One woman's breast cancer was only noticed two years after she was given the all-clear by the radiologist.
The blame lies at the door of the NHS Trust. So yes, Mrs AB Asks. Whilst we can accept a marginal amount of human error, mistakes and blunders of this kind should never be allowed to perpetuate through complacency nor duplicity. So more should be done to prevent future occurrences.
At the time of his diagnoses, his own colleagues reported concerns about his work. Despite colleagues reporting their fears to bosses in November 2003, he was allowed to continue working for a further 17 months. It emerged hospital staff did not trust his conclusions and would double-check with other radiographers before informing patients of results. One woman's breast cancer was only noticed two years after she was given the all-clear by the radiologist.
The blame lies at the door of the NHS Trust. So yes, Mrs AB Asks. Whilst we can accept a marginal amount of human error, mistakes and blunders of this kind should never be allowed to perpetuate through complacency nor duplicity. So more should be done to prevent future occurrences.
so if it's a corporate sponsored question, why such loose wording? wouldn't they want a true opinion?
Thank you octavius for pointing out the management. Too many chiefs?
Hiya Dot,
I use my charity that I support lol and funnily enough the NHS send their cancer patients to where our HBO centre is.
I don't think it's free to the NHS though.
It also supplies nurses, and of course research. We're still stuck with the same treatments though aren't we?
and the live in hope of a eureka!!! moment.........
I'm glad you have the breakdowns of where the money is spent. It's difficult to get hold of that paper work usually.
B. xxx
Thank you octavius for pointing out the management. Too many chiefs?
Hiya Dot,
I use my charity that I support lol and funnily enough the NHS send their cancer patients to where our HBO centre is.
I don't think it's free to the NHS though.
It also supplies nurses, and of course research. We're still stuck with the same treatments though aren't we?
and the live in hope of a eureka!!! moment.........
I'm glad you have the breakdowns of where the money is spent. It's difficult to get hold of that paper work usually.
B. xxx
I havn't seen any paperwork giving a financial breakdown at all but I know when we have had events it has been advertised as being for a particular thing, like another machine or another member of staff. I think that makes it more encouraging to ordinary people like us to want to support the efforts.
-- answer removed --
Hiya dot.
Probably, like a lot of legs on this site, the reply has been pulled!! :-)
The crux of the matter is we rely too heavily on too few with the most precious of our possessions ~ our health.
This litigious society we have become isn't the answer, it just reinforces the idea that money is more important than life. Someone has made an error, so someone else has to pay. It's as if people want someone else to blame for them being ill. People need to get real ~ just because science and medicine have evolved and there is a better chance of survival, it doesn't mean we are living in 'Star Trek' land with everything being curable by a magic buzzing wand!
Last point - every time the NHS has a claim against it, the cost of the insurance rises, just like car, buildings and contents insurance. So ~ will we get to the stage were claims cost us the ability to claim? The NHS unable to pay the premium, so it no longer has insurance and all contact with it has to be 'at one's own risk' ? The NHS only offering care and treatment if you have your own insurance? Think about it ~ that's basically what happens in the USA
Probably, like a lot of legs on this site, the reply has been pulled!! :-)
The crux of the matter is we rely too heavily on too few with the most precious of our possessions ~ our health.
This litigious society we have become isn't the answer, it just reinforces the idea that money is more important than life. Someone has made an error, so someone else has to pay. It's as if people want someone else to blame for them being ill. People need to get real ~ just because science and medicine have evolved and there is a better chance of survival, it doesn't mean we are living in 'Star Trek' land with everything being curable by a magic buzzing wand!
Last point - every time the NHS has a claim against it, the cost of the insurance rises, just like car, buildings and contents insurance. So ~ will we get to the stage were claims cost us the ability to claim? The NHS unable to pay the premium, so it no longer has insurance and all contact with it has to be 'at one's own risk' ? The NHS only offering care and treatment if you have your own insurance? Think about it ~ that's basically what happens in the USA
Sam, this is an error and someone should pay. These women were placing their trust in a professional to examine and analyse the condition of their body according to that person�s area of expertise. I agree that a litigious society is counter-productive but what other course of action can one take if a person has not acted with due care and attention, and indeed is guilty of negligence which it appears from the report went ignored for several months by the PCT? Do we not have a basic human right to expect that someone who is placed by the PCT in such a position is capable of doing it, and properly? This is supported by English Law.
NHS services are largely "free at the point of delivery", paid for by taxes; the NHS's budget for 2006�07 is �96 billion and the PCT is required to �break even�. A study for the Reform think tank predicts an annual deficit of nearly �7bn in 2010.
�560.3 million was paid out in connection with clinical negligence claims in 2005-06. This figure includes both damages paid to patients and the legal costs borne by the NHS. In 2004-05, the comparable figure was �502.9 million.
In most cases the procedures for litigation are set about in order not to make money for the patient (although this is certainly motivation for some) but that measures can be bought to the court of law to try and ensure that the mistakes should not happen again.
NHS services are largely "free at the point of delivery", paid for by taxes; the NHS's budget for 2006�07 is �96 billion and the PCT is required to �break even�. A study for the Reform think tank predicts an annual deficit of nearly �7bn in 2010.
�560.3 million was paid out in connection with clinical negligence claims in 2005-06. This figure includes both damages paid to patients and the legal costs borne by the NHS. In 2004-05, the comparable figure was �502.9 million.
In most cases the procedures for litigation are set about in order not to make money for the patient (although this is certainly motivation for some) but that measures can be bought to the court of law to try and ensure that the mistakes should not happen again.
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