BREAST SCREENING OUTRAGE: THEY KNEW A YEAR AGO
Amid more tragic stories of families devastated by cancer scandal, a disturbing new revelation...
HEALTH officials were warned of errors in the breast cancer screening programme more than a year ago but failed to act, it emerged last night. Public Health England conceded that it had been made aware of
problems with the scheme as far back as March 2017.
The body was alerted by two health trusts which reported that letters were not going out to some women aged 68-71. PHE instructed the private firm running the programme’s IT system to look into the matter – but the company said it was only a ‘local issue’. As a result, PHE decided not to pursue it.
The admission came a day after the body insisted it had become aware of the errors in January this year.
Ministers were not told until March and the public was informed only this
week. Some 450,000 women have not been invited to crucial mammograms as a result of the IT glitches – and as many as 270 women are feared to have died.
The fact PHE was warned of problems 14 months ago will raise further questions over the competency of the body and its chief executive Duncan Selbie.
Lee Towsey believes his mother, who died from breast cancer aged 70, was a victim of the scandal. He said: ‘It’s outrageous and it’s disgusting. Someone has to be held responsible for this error.’ As more details unfolded:
÷It emerged that a Texan firm with an annual turnover of £400million, based in Dallas, held the contract to run the scheme’s software;
÷A helpline for women and families affected had 8,000 calls in its first day;
÷Lawyers warned the NHS faced a multimillion-pound compensation bill;
÷Doctors warned breast cancer screening units would have to work evenings and weekends to clear the backlog;
÷Health officials blamed each other and refused to accept responsibility.
The NHS’s breast cancer screening is meant to be offered to all women aged 50-70, every three years. But on Wednesday, Jeremy Hunt revealed up to 450,000 women had not been invited to the checks between 2009 and 2018. This is thought to have been caused by an IT fault which meant letters did not go out to those in the 68-71 age group.
Bereaved relatives and women who have had mastectomies are calling for the officials responsible to be held to account.
Widower George Baczkowski, whose wife Ann died from breast cancer after not being invited to checks, said: ‘I don’t blame anyone for her death but I do want answers and accountability.’ The 73-yearold of Swardeston, near Norwich, said he was asking: ‘Could she still be with us?’
Helen Jarvis, 72, who had a mastectomy after missed scans meant her cancer was picked up late, said: ‘I feel so angry on behalf of so many women. In particular those women who went on to have aggressive breast cancer and died … Somebody needs to fall on their sword.’
Brian Gough, whose wife Trixie died in 2015 after not receiving a scan invitation, said: ‘ These things don’t just happen … Somebody somewhere along the line has made a massive error.’
Baroness Delyth Morgan, of Breast Cancer Now, said: ‘If there were cases coming to light much earlier than January this year, we have to ask the question why wasn’t there action taken sooner?’
Health and Social Care Secretary Jeremy Hunt launched an inquiry to establish what went wrong and who is accountable, due to report back in six months.
A PHE spokesman yesterday confirmed it was warned of issues with the scheme 14 months ago. Two trusts in London and the Midlands expressed concerns that women aged 68-71 were not receiving letters. When asked to investigate, computer firm Hitachi Consulting reported back that it was only a ‘local issue’.
Concerns were raised again in December 2017 by academics carrying out research into extending the scheme. PHE realised it was a national problem in January and by March became aware it had affected hundreds of thousands.
Yesterday Theresa May’s spokesman said the delay in telling the public was necessary to ensure ‘ correct systems were in place’, including a helpline and ensuring clinics can cope with all the women coming in for checks.
He refused to say whether the Prime Minister had full confidence in PHE.
PHE has said it cannot be held fully accountable as it was set up in 2013. Before then the screening was overseen by the Department of Health and local health trusts.
‘Somebody needs to fall on their sword’
ON day two of the breast cancer screening scandal, profoundly disturbing questions continued to mount.
Why did Public Health England not act a year ago, despite being warned by two major health trusts that women were not being notified when they needed scans?
How could the NHS computer glitch that caused the problem not have been picked up for nine years – even though the number of women reporting for mammograms fell well below expectations?
Why, when finally alerted to the problem, did the US firm responsible for the IT system dismiss it as merely ‘a local issue’? And why has PHE chief Duncan Selbie not been seen or heard from since the scandal broke?
This has been a management failure of devastating proportions. Women have almost certainly died as a result and others wait anxiously to discover whether they have undiagnosed tumours.
They and their families deserve to know exactly what went wrong and who is to blame – and to be reassured that such an outrage can never happen again. We must have answers.