BREAST CANCER
IT failure cuts short at least 270 lives in UK
Cancer Research UK says the news is very concerning and advises woman over 50 to undergo a mammogram
London — As many as 270 women’s lives may have been shortened after an information technology (IT) failure in England’s breast cancer screening programme meant 450,000 patients were not invited for appointments, says Britain’s health minister. Jeremy Hunt apologised in parliament on Wednesday for the “serious failure”, which he said was the result of a mistake in a computer system’s algorithm, and ordered an independent review. “Our current best estimate, which comes with caveats … is that there may be between 135 and 270 women who had their lives shortened as a result. “Tragically there are likely to be some people in this group who would have been alive today if the failure had not happened,” said Hunt. Britain’s state-funded National Health Service (NHS), which provides free healthcare to the entire population, is one of the country’s most popular institutions. However, it is occasionally hit by failures and scandals that resonate widely across society as almost everyone receives...
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