Dallas Jackson
There is no clever intro that will do justice to that headline. It is absolutely insanity, but it is true.
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Askern Medical Practice sent a text confirming the diagnosis of an “aggressive lung cancer with metastases” to its patient list. The text also linked to a form for people with terminal diseases to claim certain benefits. Reports indicate that the company potentially sent it to nearly 8,000 people though there was no way to confirm.
About an hour later it sent a correction text. That text read as awkward as you could possibly imagine.
“Please accept our sincere apologies for the previous text message sent,” it started. “This has been sent in error.
“Our message should have read We wish you a very merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. In case of emergency please contact NHS111 [email protected]”
The BBC posted the texts as a screenshot from concerned patients.
BBC reporters also spoke to people that were directly impacted by the text.
People like Sarah Hargreaves, who was waiting for actual test results. She went into detail with the outlet, saying that she broke down crying.
“I had just had a mole removed and was awaiting a result from a biopsy,” she said. “I had been to hospital as my smear test came back abnormal, so yes, I was very worried.”
It spoke to others who shared messages of mistrust for the employee responsible, concern over if the result was correctly sent to them but have not heard back from the clinic, to simple shock that this mistake could have been made at all.
The company has not made an official statement beyond its follow-up text.
For more on this story, visit BBC.com.
