Breast cancer errors cause "unnecessary suffering".

from our friends in Blackburn

Fourteen women who had previously been given the all-clear at Accrington Victoria Hospital have today been advised they have breast cancer. The misdiagnosis was made by a radiologist working at the hospital between 2005 and 2008, who is now being investigated. The women involved are now undergoing treatment.

Four other women have been diagnosed with a condition called ductal carcinoma, which mean that there are abnormal cells contained in the milk ducts which have not spread to the rest of the breast.

East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust has confirmed that several women have been "recalled" for further assessment and treatment. All women who had been seen by the radiologist concerned had been reviewed and no further reviews are necessary, said the Trust.

The Trust added that, as a result of the errors, it is reviewing guidelines in the breast-screening process and in the assessment service, to ensure they are "robust" and to help "exceed government targets for cancer detection".

It is now likely that some of the women concerned will pursue legal action against the Trust. It is not known whether some of the women's conditions are life threatening.

This is a seriously worrying incident and the nature of the errors has an effect beyond the eighteen people who have been misdiagnosed. It negatively impacts on our community's impression of the hospital and the standards of care they will receive.

Adrian, a man whose mother recently had breast cancer, said this was "very worrying". He added that he would like to know "how the mistakes were made and why it's only coming to light now" and claimed the incident has caused "unnecessary suffering" for some local women. We contacted the Trust and were advised that procedures are being looked into to prevent this happening again.

The NHS Improvement Society is committed to improving standards of cancer assessment and treatment within the NHS. We have supported the objectives of the government's NHS Cancer Plan, which gives local NHS Trusts guidance on how to better facilitate early diagnosis and reduce waiting times for treatment.

However, such a document is meaningless if the clinical staff are, as in this case, lacking in the required competencies. What should happen is for the role of consultants to be reviewed, to ensure their work is more closely scrutised by fellow professionals.