UK medical practice sends cancer diagnoses to patients instead of Christmas greetings

Hundreds of patients at a doctor’s office in northern England mistakenly received a cancer diagnosis instead of Christmas wishes, The Sun newspaper reported on Thursday (December 29).

“Diagnosis: invasive lung cancer with metastases”. Instead of Christmas greetings, here’s the message hundreds of patients received from a doctor’s office in the north of England. According to The Sun daily This Thursday, December 29.

The facts unfolded on December 23, at 3.49pm, when patients at Askern Health Center near Doncaster received a text message on their phones informing them of this alarming diagnosis.

In doing so, they were asked to fill out forms, all ending with a simple “thank you.”

Minutes later, at 4:11 pm, the cabinet realized its big mistake and sent a message offering a “sincere apology”. “This was sent to you in error. Our message should be: We want you to be happy Christmas And happy new year.

A message that patients are not getting

However, despite the apology, the news upset many patients, some of whom posted screenshots of the news. Facebook group A cabinet with a text explaining their anxiety.

“Another big mistake by bad doctors,” posted Carl Sequin, while another user responded in a comment: “Everyone at Askern got this news!!”.

Shocked GP patients get text message telling them they have lung cancer instead of Merry Christmas | the sun https://t.co/PbAiD2Ka16

— Gingyed (@gingyed) December 29, 2022

According to the sun, among those receiving the news was a 57-year-old father awaiting results of tests to determine if he had lung cancer. Chris Reid told the tabloid that he tried to call the office but the line was busy and there was no answer. Then he went there and only this time, the caretakers informed him that the analysis was negative.

The incident comes as relations are often strained between Britons and their “GPs”, these health centers in the public health system where they are supposed to be monitored and treated for free, but they are overwhelmed after years of austerity.