Thousands of mistakes in cancer treatment
Extract from the Telegraph:
"Thousands of mistakes were made in treating cancer patients last year and more than 500 cases were missed by doctors, official figures show.
The scale of the problem emerged on Monday as it was disclosed that the NHS has paid out almost £50 million in negligence claims related to cancer since 1995.
In total 502 cases of cancer were missed in 2006-7, an increase of almost 20 per cent on the previous year's 433.
The number of mistakes made in treating patients who had been correctly diagnosed also rose.
Errors in chemotherapy treatment increased by 1.3 per cent to 6,344.
There were 1,854 mistakes in radiotherapy treatment, a rise of 2.6 per cent on the previous 12 months."
And if you want a bit of a laugh about this very serious problem, read the ludicrous and complacent response from a Department of Health spokesman: "An increase in reported patient safety incidents is not a sign that the NHS is less safe for patients - quite the reverse."
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