BREAST CANCER BETRAYAL OF SCOTS WOMEN
Hundreds denied life-saving checks after blunder
HUNDREDS of Scots women have been denied life-saving breast checks because of a ‘potentially devastating’ blunder in the screening system.
A total of 1,761 women are now being offered urgent mammograms to find out if they have cancer because they were not sent invitations for assessments at a critical time in their lives.
In some cases, the vital tests were last carried out six years ago.
It is not yet known what the implications are for those missed out by the system, but a similar error in England is thought to have led to the deaths of hundreds of women. An undisclosed number of women in Scotland who missed appointments are also understood to have died, although their cause of death is currently unknown.
Scotland’s Health Secretary yesterday apologised for an IT glitch that the NHS blames for erroneously deleting women’s names from the appointment system.
But critics said ‘sorry is not good enough’ as some women may have died as a result.
The Scottish Government made the admission despite being adamant earlier this year
Rest SNP’S SHONA ROBISON, assured MAY ... no problems with Scots breast screening There SNP’S JEANE FREEMAN, IS YESTERDAY a serious problem. I apologise to women affected
that there were ‘no problems’ with the Scottish Breast Screening Programme.
Baroness Delyth Morgan, chief executive at Breast Cancer Now, said: ‘It is unacceptable that so many women have not received screening invitations at a time when they may be most at risk of breast cancer.
‘For any women that may have gone on to develop breast cancers that could have been picked up earlier through screening, this could be a devastating error.’
The review of breast screening in Scotland was carried out after the ‘significant incident’ in England meant around 450,000 women were not invited to their final screenings between 2009 and this year.
That scandal is estimated to have shortened the lives of 270 women, sparking fears for the Scots who have gone unchecked.
Angela Harris, head of Breast Cancer Care Scotland, said: ‘It is absolutely shocking to
‘Such errors must be consigned to history’
hear women in Scotland too have been failed – thousands will be left anxious about whether they’re affected.
‘NHS Scotland and the Scottish Government must ensure the screening programme is failsafe for the future – such awful errors must be consigned to history.’
David Stewart, Scottish Labour’s public health spokesman, said: ‘Almost 1,800 women have been badly, and potentially fatally, let down. If the Government can be wrong on an issue as crucial as this, then many members of the public will rightly wonder if there are additional screening failures in the NHS.’
Women are invited for scans, carried out in a bid to detect breast cancer before symptoms become evident, every three years between the ages of 50 and 70.
Yesterday, officials confirmed the error followed a technical glitch.
Automated systems identify women when they reach their 70th birthday, but delays in the screening programme meant many women turned 71 before it reached them – meaning they were not sent a letter as the computer deemed them too old. The IT glitch has been going on for three years, meaning women last screened up to six years ago did not received their final check.
Officials have identified all the women still living who had missed a screening appointment, and letters have been sent to them.
In May, when the problems in England emerged, former health secretary Shona Robison said: ‘I want to reassure members of the public that this issue does not affect the NHS in Scotland and patients should be reassured that there are no problems with our breast screening programme records or IT systems.’
A spokesman for First Minister Nicola Sturgeon yesterday said of Miss Robison’s comment: ‘The important thing is action has been taken as soon as it was brought to our attention.’ But Scottish Lib Dem health spokesman Alex ColeHamilton called the situation a ‘horrifying lapse of process’.
He said: ‘The Scottish Government must ensure that no other women ever face the potentially devastating consequences of such a blunder again.’
Scottish Tory health spokesman Annie Wells said: ‘Sorry is not good enough. The SNP must ensure this never happens again.’
Around one in eight women in the UK is diagnosed with breast cancer and if it is detected early, treatment is more successful and there is a good chance of recovery.
Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said: ‘This will be a worrying time for the women affected and I apologise fully for any distress caused.
‘The women are being contacted as a priority and resources have been put in place to ensure they are screened promptly and offered any wider support needed. We must learn from this.’
Comment – Page 16
‘Ensure this never happens again’