At high risk of breast cancer, but 370 women miss out on vital scans
Agonising wait after ANOTHER screening blunder
HUNDREDS of women at high risk of breast cancer are believed to have missed checks due to an administrative error.
Letters are being sent ‘as a matter of urgency’ to 242 patients in the NHS Lothian region and health officials are trying to trace a further 127 who have left the area after it emerged patients had not been called in for mammograms.
The 369 women affected are usually offered screening every 12, 18 or 24 months, depending on their age and risk of developing cancer.
They include those with mutations of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, which significantly increase the chance of developing breast cancer.
But the health board said staff members who were sending out appointment letters noticed that some women on their lists had waited too long before being called in for their next mammogram.
This led to a review of all 5,500 women included in the board’s Increased Risk Breast Screening Programme.
Katie Dee, deputy director of public health for NHS Lothian, said: ‘Following an extensive review of participant records within our Increased Risk Breast Screening Programme, it was identified that a number of women may not have been invited for screening as regularly as they should.
She added: ‘We are writing to the women who are affected to offer our sincere apologies, provide more information and to invite them for a new screening appointment. This incident is being investigated thoroughly and appropriate steps are being taken to ensure it does not happen again.’
The women will be offered appointments over the next three weeks.
The board is working with other NHS boards and trusts to identify whether any of the 127 women who had left the area require a new appointment.
NHS Lothian stressed that the Scotland-wide screening programme, which invites all women aged 50-70 for mammograms every three years, has not been affected.
In the past a computer glitch, which has now been rectified, resulted in 1,761 women failing to receive their last appointment with this service. Sue Webber, public health spokesman for the Scottish Conservatives, said that the women involved would be ‘hugely anxious’.
She said: ‘It is simply not good enough to pin the blame on administrative errors when lives are potentially at risk.
‘NHS Lothian must be fully upfront about how on earth this was allowed to occur and why hundreds of women have missed out on vital appointments.’
Maree Todd, the Minister for Public Health, said: ‘The board is, rightly, apologising to all of those affected and we are clear that steps must now be taken to ensure this is not repeated in NHS Lothian or any other health board.’
Dr Jodie Moffat, head of the early diagnosis programme at Cancer Research UK, said: ‘Because the women affected by this error are at a higher risk of developing breast cancer, it is very worrying that some have not been called forward for their screening as regularly as they should. It’s crucial that lessons are learnt from this and that it doesn’t happen again.’
Anyone with concerns can call the Increased Risk Breast Screening Programme helpline on 0800 085 8531 from 8am to 8pm, seven days a week until February 13.
‘Sincere apologies’