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17 patients given all-clear have cancer

01/08/2008

A consultant has been suspended after 17 people were wrongly told they had the all-clear from cancer.

The patients have since been receiving treatment for the disease at Hereford County hospital.

A further 14 people were told they had cancer, some of whom were treated, when they did not.

The cases came to light after Hereford Hospitals NHS trust completed a review of tissue samples from 4,654 patients, which were examined in its laboratory at the hospital between May 2006 and August 2007.

Not all people in the review were cancer patients.

A total of 102 patients had to be recalled to discuss changes to their diagnosis or treatment, with 70 requiring a change in treatment.

The consultant involved will remain suspended until the completion of disciplinary procedures. No concerns have been raised about the accuracy of reporting by any other member of the histopathology department.

The trust's chief executive, Martin Woodford, thanked the patients reviewed for their "patience and understanding".

"Now that the review is complete I would, once again, like to apologise personally and on behalf of the trust, to all patients affected by this regrettable situation, in particular to those who had received an inaccurate diagnosis," he said.

"Our highest priority throughout has been the care and wellbeing of our patients and we have acted as quickly as possible to make sure that the review was carried out thoroughly and effectively."

Alison Budd, the trust's medical director, added: "We took immediate action to investigate when concerns were raised and, as a result, have increased our cross-checking and quality control procedures to protect against a similar situation arising in the future.

"I hope that everyone involved is reassured by the action we have taken but, if anyone still has concerns, I encourage them to call us on 01432 364000."