Breast cancer scandal victims demand action
THE NHS breast cancer screening scandal deepened yesterday, with victims calling for the resignation of the man in charge.
Helplines were overwhelmed with calls within hours of opening, while warning letters to alert women they had missed checks were sent to the wrong patients.
Last night, it emerged two NHS trusts contacted Public Health England (PHE) more than a year ago warning of IT problems, which meant women eligible for screening were not being sent letters. But after the company running the system insisted the errors were a “local” issue, PHE failed to pursue the matter – and only realised this year the blunders were widespread.
PHE is attempting to contact around 300,000 women who were denied screening checks they should have been offered over the past decade.
But as the first warning letters arrived yesterday, recipients included cancer sufferers who had never been excluded from the programme – raising concerns about whether those who missed checks would be reached.
Victims of the scandal last night called for the resignation of Duncan Selbie, the head of PHE, who has remained out of public view since the blunders emerged on Wednesday.
They criticised the NHS manager for being slow to apologise to women affected by the scandal, including
those whose lives it may cost. Helplines set up by PHE received 8,000 calls yesterday, with cancer sufferers saying it had taken more than an hour to get through. Bereaved relatives said they were told by call handlers to put a complaint in writing.
The debacle has increased pressure on Mr Selbie who was already facing questions about how “administrative incompetence” meant blunders went undetected for years.
Jeremy Hunt has held meetings with the agency chief, demanding to know how the failures took so long to be detected. Mr Selbie last night issued a statement offering a “heartfelt and unreserved” apology on behalf of PHE and NHS breast screening services.
Legal experts warned that victims of the scandal could face a long battle to secure compensation, with many likely to die before receiving any payout. Ministers have said cancer sufferers may be able to secure payment if they can prove harm was caused by delays in diagnosis. But they have failed to announce any kind of fast-track scheme, which would automate compensation for those who were denied a check and went on to develop cancer.
The problems began with a computer programming error in 2009, which meant around 450,000 women aged between 68 and 71 were not invited for mammograms.
An independent inquiry is to examine how it was that PHE, which took responsibility for the programme in 2013, failed to detect the problems – even as screening rates fell to the lowest rates in a decade. Around 140,000 women who missed scans have since died, with estimates that up to 270 deaths were caused by the absence of checks.
Health officials have now embarked on efforts to contact around 300,000 women in their 70s, but have said it could take up to a month to send all the letters out, and six months for those who want mammograms to have them.
Helen Jarvis, 72, a cancer sufferer, was among those attempting to contact PHE’S helplines yesterday, getting through after an hour of trying.
The retired NHS therapist, from Newport Pagnell, Bucks, was not offered the scan but should have been.
“There are either far too few people on the helplines or this problem is bigger than they’re admitting,” she said.
PHE last night said it had twice increased capacity in order to cope with demand yesterday, and would bring in extra call handlers today.