Hundreds of files missing
Christchurch and that they had blown away in a gust of wind.
The DHB refused to confirm this when asked, nor discuss Moore’s case, despite her providing a privacy waiver.
Moore said she had a meeting with the DHB about her clinical notes going missing. She said the DHB had a lawyer present.
A letter from the DHB, dated February 20, apologised to her for the potential privacy breach.
‘‘While we are hopeful that someone may have picked up these papers and disposed of them we simply don’t know what occurred,’’ it said.
Moore believes the missing clinical notes led to her delayed diagnosis and treatment for cancer.
Medical notes, provided to Stuff by Moore, say the DHB received her referral from her GP on October 30 for an urgent scan to test for uterine cancer.
The referral was not entered into the system for two days and the correct coding was not used to ensure she was seen by a specialist in the required 14 days.
‘‘The registration process is basic and involves two minutes work maximum and should be done frequently,’’ the notes said.
Moore had the ultrasound on November 13 confirming she had invasive endometrial cancer. She was not seen by a specialist until December 10 – five weeks after her referral. The Ministry of Health’s Fast Cancer Pathway requires cancer patients to be seen by a specialist within 14 days.
The notes say Moore could have been seen by a specialist on November 20. ‘‘This delay was completely avoidable. The potential for this patient to have unfavourable outcomes due to this delay is high,’’ they said.