NHS data blunder ‘may harm 1,700 patients’

AT LEAST 1,700 patients may have been harmed by a major blunder which saw more than 700,000 pieces of patient confidential medical correspondence mislaid, according to a new report.

The study, from the National Audit Office (NAO), also found that the Department of Health, which co-owns the company responsible for the error, did not inform Parliament or the public for several months about the issue.

The blunder, which covers five years up to early 2016, relates to many types of medical documents, including treatment plans, blood and urine test results and cancer diagnoses.

The documents, sent between GPs and hospitals, did not reach their recipients because they were piled up in a warehouse by NHS Shared Business Services (SBS), which is co-owned by the Department of Health and private firm Sopra Steria.

The NAO report found that, as of May 31 this year, the review of the backlog has found 1,788 cases of potential harm to patients.

Overall, NHS England and NHS SBS have identified just under 709,000 items of unprocessed correspondence. The study said that while no cases of actual harm have yet been identified, a third of GPs have not yet responded on whether unprocessed items sent to them indicate potential harm for patients.

Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said: “This was a colossal blunder, which has put 1,788 people in harm’s way – and this figure could be much, much higher.”

He accused the Government of trying to “simply wave this away”.

He added: “This disaster left patient data, which includes blood test results and cancer screening, languishing in a warehouse. People in the Department must be held accountable for this shoddy affair.”

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt became aware of the blunder in March 2016 when health bosses discovered thousands of pieces of mail had not been set on by NHS SBS, which was operating a redirection service in the East Midlands, the South West and northeast London.

The NAO report said that over a four-year period, local teams and reviews within NHS SBS observed the backlog “continuing to grow”.