Report to the People
18th June 2007
Cancer Scare Lessons Must be Found and
Learned
Most
of us can only imagine the anxiety and distress to which the 198 women recalled
for further breast cancer tests at the IRH have been subject.
Despite
professionals’ assurances that they don’t expect to find significant numbers
of missed cancers, the women affected and their families are naturally worried
sick. As I told the First Minister
in the Scottish Parliament when the news broke on Thursday, the first priority
must be reassuring every woman involved as quickly as possible.
And,
to their credit, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde pulled out all the stops to make
sure any woman who is recalled is offered a swift consultation and further
assessment if necessary; special clinics are working evenings and weekends until
everyone has been seen. Also, any
patient who cannot be given immediate reassurance at the clinic on the day of
her appointment will receive the results of any further tests within the week.
In
the longer term, though, serious questions need to be asked about how this scare
arose - not just for our benefit, but to improve the quality of service across
Scotland. Where has the system
failed?
I
have asked both the First Minister and the Health Secretary to initiate a full
inquiry into what has gone wrong. As
yet, neither has agreed, but I will continue to press for it.
Only
by finding out why this was allowed to happen will we be able to prevent anyone
else being shaken by a scandal like this.
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