3,000 Scots in cancer letter error

MORE than 3,000 people were forced to shield unnecessarily during the coronavirus pandemic due to misidentification of cancers.

John Swinney has disclosed that 9,221 Scots were sent letters advising them they had wrongly been told to shield due to underlying health conditions.

Public Health Scotland sends letters to patients on behalf of NHS boards, telling recipients if they are allowed to adhere to the same coronavirus regulations as the rest of the country.

A letter can be sent for a number of reasons, including following a consultation between patients and their doctor or because of an error.

The Deputy First Minister has said that 3,361 patients were issued with shielding guidance as a result of ‘cancer misidentifications’. According to the Scottish Government, these people were misidentified as having had radical radiotherapy for lung cancer when it was in fact used to treat another form of the disease.

Mr Swinney also disclosed that 80 people received a letter after being misidentified as having recently had a transplant, which would have put them at a greater risk of the virus.

A further 840 people were told they should not have been shielding after it was discovered the drug they were taking for rheumatological problems did not put them at greater risk of Covid-19.

Yesterday, Scots Tory leader Jackson Carlaw said: ‘This kind of error is typical of the SNP Government’s mismanagement.’

A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘Identifying people with the highest risk who should shield has been complex and forensic.’