3 patients dead after UK hospital failed to escalate imaging findings
St. George University Hospitals Foundation Trust in the U.K. admitted that missed radiology findings contributed to the death of three patients at its hospital, according to reporting from Health Services Journal.
Among the eight incidents that resulted in patient harm, four included “incidental findings of malignancy” that weren’t properly escalated by clinicians, according to documents obtained by the UK news outlet. Those imaging cases, the documents noted, were performed for other “indications,” not specifically looking for cancer.
Some findings, however, were sent to unmonitored inboxes or improperly reported. Health Services Journal noted that St. George’s has since changed its radiology reporting workflow to a more reliable system.
“We have rightly apologized to the patients and relatives of all those included in the report for providing a standard of care that fell short of high standards we would expect, and lessons have been learned as a result,” the news outlet reported.
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Matt joined Chicago’s TriMed team in 2018 covering all areas of health imaging after two years reporting on the hospital field. He holds a bachelor’s in English from UIC, and enjoys a good cup of coffee and an interesting documentary.