The Group Action Lawyers are investigating the NHS Breast Cancer Screening Scandal which has broken in the news this week.
Our Group Action Lawyers say there may be legal cases to answer for as Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, confirms that 270 women may have died as a direct result of an IT glitch that lead to them NOT receiving vital and potentially life-saving letters inviting them for periodic breast cancer screening.
It’s thought that women aged between 68 and 71 are affected by the glitch that occurred in 2009 that was discovered by Public Health England in January this year.
NHS Breast Cancer Screening Scandal
NHS breast screening for cancer is fundamental to reduce deaths for the most “at risk” groups, which is typically women aged between 50 and 70. Women in the “at-risk” groups should receive letters from the NHS inviting them to undergo periodic breast screening to detect cancer and save lives, but an IT algorithm glitch has resulted in a number of women not being invited for screening by mistake.
It’s thought that some 450,000 women are affected by the glitch that has resulted in them not being invited for their vital mammogram breast screening. Of those women, some 150,000 have reportedly died, and as many as 270 may have had their lives shortened as a direct result of a lack of breast cancer screening.
The government has blamed the breast cancer screening scandal on “administrative incompetence”. Women affected are going to be re-invited for cancer breast screening mammograms in the next few months.
What are the legal rights for victims?
The government has already accepted that hundreds have died as a result of not undergoing lifesaving breast screening. What we need to know is how many of those did not have the breast screening because they were not invited as a result of the computer glitch.
Victims of any form of medical negligence can be entitled to legal action, whether it’s the victims themselves who claim, or their families who must launch a case when a loved-one passes away. Because this breast cancer screening scandal was entirely preventable and has already been accepted by the government as “administrative incompetence”, we believe that victims should have a pathway to justice.
Who can potentially initiate legal action for the breast cancer screening scandal?
The glitch reportedly occurred in 2009 and affected women aged between 68 and 71.
If you fit the below preliminary criteria, we may be able to help you:
- • Families of patients who have passed away as a result of the IT glitch not inviting the deceased for breast screening
- • Women who have developed cancer as a result of the IT glitch not inviting them for breast screening, whether a recovery has been made, or where the cancer remains
Your Lawyers – The Group Action Lawyers – are here to help
Our Group Action Lawyers have been at the heart of some of the biggest medical group action claims in the UK, from the PIP Breast Implant scandal, to the vaginal mesh implant claims, as well as investigating the Ian Paterson breast surgery claims and representing victims involved in the Dr Angamuthu Arunkalaivanan (Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospital NHS Trust) Pelvic Organ Prolapse (POP) recall.
If you have been affected by the scandal and have, or had, breast cancer as a result of the failure to invite you for breast screening, or if you are family of a victim who has passed away as a result of the invitation IT glitch, please contact our team for assistance as soon as you can.
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