NHS Fails to send breast screening invitations to 450,000 women
Up to 270 women in England may have died because they did not receive invitations to a final routine breast cancer screening. Of the 450,000 women affected, 150,000 have since died.
It is said that a computer algorithm failure was to blame, which meant women who had just turned 70 were not sent an invitation for a final scan as they should have been.
Mr Hunt said that this screening programme oversight had been going on for many years. He added:
"it is incredibly upsetting to know that you did not receive an invitation for screening at the correct time and totally devastating to hear you may have lost or be about to lose a loved one because of administrative incompetence."
Mr Hunt has announced an independent review and apologised to the women and their families.
All women affected will apparently be contacted by letter by the end of May 2018 and those under 75 will be offered a routine catch-up mammogram.
Breast cancer screening is currently offered to women aged 50 to 70 in England. All women in this age group registered with a GP are invited for screening every three years because the likelihood of getting breast cancer increases with age.
Breast cancer is a devastating condition but it can be cured with early diagnosis and treatment. A delay in diagnosis may mean that the important timeframe for successful treatment is lost. Our expert lawyers have successfully investigated and secured compensation for delayed diagnosis of breast cancer. Click here to read about cancer misdiagnosis claims and here for Fatal Claims.
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Sahida Patel
Simon Minton