Poole Hospital admits breast cancer scandal is "deeply concerning"

An independent investigation was launched after Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said it was estimated between 135 and 270 women in England had had their lives shortened.

Sir Christopher Chope, Christchurch MP, said the situation, which saw around 450,000 women miss out on invitations for screening, should not have happened.

He said the Government was ultimately responsible, but for some families “the damage has already been done”.

Poole Hospital released a statement yesterday, 24 hours after the issue was first addressed in the House of Commons. The hospital said the breast screening service in Dorset will be providing extra screening to help those women who have been affected as a priority.

Dr Alistair Thomson, consultant radiologist and clinical director for the Dorset breast screening service, said: “We acknowledge that this situation is deeply concerning for many women.

“As providers of the screening service in the county, I would like to reassure them that we are doing all we can to offer screening invitations urgently to this group of women.”

Sir Christopher said the situation was another example where there was a reliance on computers and the system proved to be fallible.

“This shouldn’t have happened,” he said.

“It is one of those things where the Government is ultimately responsible and they are doing their best to rectify the situation as far as they can, but in some cases the damage has already been done.”

Public Health England said the problem was first identified in January, however the situation was only made public this week.

Sir Christopher said he did not know the reason for this delay. However, he added in his opinion Public Health England’s detailed release provided vital information for concerned residents.

“We know from other things that have happened, if you have not worked out your contingency plans and have not got any answers then it can make the situation even worse,” he added.