Man sues after cancer test mix up

The man was first told there was no sign of malignancy in his cancer test

It is feared up to 70 men may have been given wrong results for cancer tests.

One man has begun legal action against the former Carmarthenshire NHS Trust after being wrongly told he didn't have prostate cancer.

The Llanelli man is among 534 whose biopsies at West Wales General Hospital, Carmarthen, were reviewed after errors were noticed in March.

The Hywel Dda NHS trust said it was establishing how many tests were wrong. It was unable to give an exact figure.

However, it did say it expected the figure to be lower than 70.

In March, the then Carmarthenshire NHS Trust said 528 prostate biopsies carried out by the trust since the previous Christmas had been referred to an external agency for further analysis.

Every patient affected by the small number of reporting inaccuracies identified earlier this year has now been directly contacted Dr Alan Axford, medical director, Hywel Dda NHS Trust

Six more have also since been analysed.

The analysis was taken as a precaution after routine checks of pathology examinations of the biopsies had revealed two errors, although neither proved life-threatening.

Carmarthenshire NHS Trust has been replaced by Hywel Dda NHS Trust.

Four patients are taking legal action but the trust declined to comment on individual cases.

Lawyers acting for the Llanelli man, who has not been named, said he was told a biopsy was clear of the signs of the disease after testing at the hospital.

Tim Deeming, of law firm Irwin Mitchell, said the man and his family found it "devastating news" when they were told the original diagnosis more than a year earlier was wrong.

He said: "Understandably, he and his family are extremely upset by the news and in particular the delay in treatment which could have implications on his long term prognosis.

"To add further insult to injury, there seems to be no urgency on the part of the trust to offer immediate treatment for these patients who, through no fault of their own, have had their diagnoses delayed.

The biopsies examined at West Wales General Hospital were reviewed

"My client has had to fight to get an urgent MRI scan and even now, some four months after the original failings came to light, he is still awaiting urgent oncology treatment."

Mr Deeming said he expected the case to be "just the tip of the iceberg" and said he believed up to 70 patients may have been given the wrong diagnosis.

Trust medical director Dr Alan Axford said the trust regretted and apologised for any distress caused by this incident.

He said: "The care and wellbeing of patients is of utmost importance to our trust.

"Every patient affected by the small number of reporting inaccuracies identified earlier this year has now been directly contacted by a clinician or GP and the vast majority have been found to be unaffected."