Potential risk of harm to hundreds of NHS patients because of undelivered medical mail

Back in February 2017, reports revealed that hundreds upon thousands of medical correspondences never made it to healthcare providers. The contractor hired by the NHS to send medical information between health institutions and providers reportedly lost around 709,000 pieces of data.

Truly staggering…

The information included patient medical records and test results. At the time the atrocity was revealed, it was suspected that 500 patients may have been harmed as a result of missing key medical information. Now, the number is over 1,700.

When news of the problem was revealed, The National Audit Office (NAO) conducted an inquiry to investigate how this could happen to our nationalised health service. The watchdog agency was highly critical of the incident, condemning NHS Shared Business Services (SBS) for alleged incompetence. Not only was a huge backlog of medical information ignored, but it apparently went unreported for two years, and all the while patients were likely suffering.

Lost information

According to the Guardian online newspaper, the lost information included:

• Treatment plans
• Details of medication changes
• Child protection notes
• Diagnostic test results

The NAO revealed that:

It’s expected that the number will continue to increase as more cases of harm will come to light…

The deputy chair of the British Medical Association’s HGP committee, Dr Richard Vautrey, voiced his disdain over the way patient information was handled:

“It is a disgrace that this service failed so badly that patient care was being compromised. Patients will rightly be angry that this private company, contracted by the NHS, has failed practices and patients to such an extent.”

Lost and delayed correspondence can lead to delayed or missed treatment

Without access to important test results and other medical information, health providers like doctors may be unable to treat patients effectively. For vulnerable patients, delays in paperwork can mean delays in treatments.

Of the 1,788 patients listed as potentially suffering harm from the missing information, some 333 have passed away. Though it has not been confirmed that the lost information was connected to the deaths, it’s something that needs to be looked at very carefully.

The issue of serious and / or aggressive ailments

Letters that include test results confirming cancerous cells or aggressive symptoms need to be accessed quickly. For vulnerable and / or critical patients, a day’s delay could be the difference between life and death.

It’s as simple as that!

Further outrage has been aired after it was reported that SBS were aware of the backlog and missing medical information all the way back in January 2014. They apparently knew that such delays were likely to cause real harm to patient’s health and lives, yet despite this, no one said anything until March 2016.

Political scrutiny has since followed, involving politicians and a potential cover-up. Patients who have suffered harm or injury as a result of negligent administration have a right to seek compensation, and our specialist Medical Negligence Lawyers are on hand to assist.