Missed cancer diagnosis patients get apology from Health Service Executive

A review of the cancer misdiagnosis crisis in the north-east which led to the deaths of eight patients at Our Lady"s Hospital, Navan, and Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda has led to an apology to the families of the deceased by the Health Service Executive (HSE). The eight people died following the initial failure by a locum radiologist to diagnose that they had contracted lung cancer. The issue is expected to be raised with HSE chief executive Brendan Drumm when he visits the region later this month. Cllr Tommy Reilly said that he would be asking Professor Drumm 'some hard questions' about the misdiagnosis affairs, and about policies surrounding the recruitment of locums in the north-east. 'I know that the HSE has apologised to the families affected by the deaths of loved ones as a result of what happened in Navan and Drogheda, but I will be pressing for further answers to certain doubts I have in my mind about procedures in this region,' he said. The HSE last week released its report on the investigation by a group of consultants set up last May to look into 6,000 x-rays and CT scans carried out by a locum consultant radiologist working in the two hospitals. The health authority said that of 4,936 patients whose tests had been clinically reviewed, nine who had initially been cleared had subsequently been found to have lung cancer. The consultant radiologist had worked at the Navan and Drogheda hospitals from August 2006 to August 2007 and the look-back review re-assessed all of the chest x-rays and CT scans for that period. Its aim was to identify any possible significant ongoing patient safety issues and to provide reassurance to those patients whose x-rays and CT scans were assessed by the locum consultant that they had been correctly diagnosed and treated. The HSE said: 'The main finding of the look-back review was that nine patients had their diagnosis of cancer delayed by some months as a result of radiological missed diagnoses. All of these patients whose diagnosis was delayed had their cancer diagnosed before the look-back review began. The look-back review did not find any undiagnosed cases of lung cancer.' It said the review acknowledged that the delayed diagnoses had varying impacts on these patients" care and treatment options. These included lost opportunities in relation to cure prospects, additional life-span and earlier palliative care. 'It led to worry, uncertainty and distress for families and reduced the time available to them to come to terms with the serious diagnosis and the impending death of their family member,' the HSE said. 'At the core of these events are the patients involved and their families. The HSE wishes to apologise to the families who were harmed by these delayed diagnoses, and to all patients involved in the review. 'While the events cannot be reversed, we are unequivocally committed to providing an open and honest record of what happened, and to doing what we can to avoid a recurrence of similar events.'