Man dies after year-delay error in test results

It’s been three years since Toni Woods lost her loving partner to cancer but she finally has an apology from the hospital at fault.

The Hawke’s Bay District Health Board’s interim chief executive, Craig Climo, has admitted responsibility, telling Woods he was “very sorry we let you down”.

Climo wrote the letter of apology after an HDC investigation found the DHB breached the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’ Rights for multiple systems failures.

The investigation came after an IT error caused a year-long delay in Wood’s dying partner, Lindsay Collinson, receiving test results from the DHB.

Health and Disability Commissioner Anthony Hill said in a decision released yesterday it was “unacceptable” the radiology report did not reach the treatment doctor.

Hill was critical of the DHB’s system failures saying it meant the man’s treating clinicians were unable to view his CT scan report for more than a year, which significantly delayed his treatment.

Woods said she was pleased with the HDC decision and that the DHB “had finally admitted its faults” but she was not convinced it wouldn’t happen again.

“They should pay for they did. It should never have happened. It’s just wrong and when I’m up to it I will be taking legal action.”

The failures dated back to July 2016 when Collinson had a CT scan after falling ill in Paris.

A radiologist wrote a report saying there were enlarged nodes in his chest and neck but the couple were never told and nothing was done.

The 75-year-old became increasingly unwell, and was constantly tired, short of breath and struggling to make it through each day. More than a year later, Collinson was still unwell so went to a private cardiologist who found the report. He immediately ordered a new scan which showed the nodes had grown from 18mm to 27mm. It found metastasised cancer with a growth in his L5 vertebra which had fractured his spine and was causing his back pain.

Four months later he was dead.