Missed cancer scans reveal major hospital bungle
Andrew Stafford and Robyn Wuth |
A five-week delay reviewing the scans of one terminally ill cancer patient has triggered checks for thousands more cases after failures at a major hospital.
In the second Queensland Health bungle revealed in two days, patients at Caboolture Hospital might have been exposed to serious health complications because of their medical images not being sent to specialists.
Metro North Health chief medical officer Elizabeth Rushbrook apologised for the failure, which she described as “the worst-case scenario for us”.
“This is not OK,” she told reporters on Tuesday.
Surgical, cardiac, respiratory and pediatric patients who underwent imaging processes at the hospital, north of Brisbane, during a more than two-year period were affected.
Among the 9000 patients affected between April 2023 and early in September, up to 20,000 images needed to be reviewed within two weeks.
“As soon as we discovered it was a systems issue, we’ve assumed that every single one of those reports hasn’t been reviewed, so we want to have a look at all those 9000 patients to be sure,” Dr Rushbrook said.
“I want to leave no stone unturned.”
There was no suggestion the five-week delay in the cancer patient’s case, the discovery of which triggered the broader review, contributed to their death.
But Dr Rushbrook said such delays could result in late access to palliative care and impact how patients chose to spend their remaining time with their families.
“All of these delays are really important to address, because we don’t want people to be suffering from distress because they don’t have clarity,” she said.
The latest bungle follows admissions on Monday health authorities failed to distribute urology test results or provide follow-up care at Townsville Hospital.
An independent investigation into urology services at that hospital is under way, with at least 11 patients affected.
Premier David Crisafulli said the government was only informed of the problem at Caboolture Hospital on Monday and he had demanded answers from Queensland Health.
“It is vital that every bit of information that the hospital has, that they share it,” he said.
“They deserve nothing more than complete and utter transparency, and that’s what they’ll get.”
Metro North Health attributed the bungle to an internal change in processes in April 2023 that altered how results were communicated to specialists.
Any lack of accountability could erode confidence in the public health system, Advocacy group Patients Australia said.
“It is deeply concerning that patients may have had their medical images overlooked,” chief executive Lisa Robins told AAP.
“Patients place great trust in the health system and any lapse in reviewing critical test results threatens that trust.”
“Both the patients directly affected and the wider community deserve full transparency and timely information about how many people were impacted and what measures will be put in place to prevent it from happening again.”
Metro North Health said staff would contact all patients affected by the issue.
AAP
