(London) “Diagnosis: aggressive lung cancer with metastases”: a medical practice in the north of England scared hundreds of patients by sending this message instead of Christmas greetings, the daily reported on Thursday The Sun.
At 3:49 p.m. on December 23, patients at this health center in Askern, near the town of Doncaster, received a text message on their phones informing them of this diagnosis, asking them to complete the relevant forms and concluding: “ Thank you “.
At 4:11 p.m., another message followed offering a “sincere apology”: “This was sent to you in error. Our message should have been: we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year”.
PHOTO FROM ASKERN MEDICAL PRACTICE FACEBOOK PAGE
Contacted by AFP, the medical office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The error was not to the liking of patients, with some posting a screenshot of the messages on the firm’s Facebook group along with a very angry message.
“Another huge mistake by lousy doctors”, published Carl Chegwin, while another Internet user replied in comment: “Everyone in Askern has received this message! ! »
According to The Sun, among the recipients of the message was a 57-year-old father who was awaiting the results of analyzes to determine whether he suffered from lung cancer. Chris Reed told the tabloid that he tried to call the firm, but was unsuccessful because the line was busy. He went there and was then told that the analyzes were negative.
The incident comes as relations are often tense between the British and their “GPs”, these health centers in the public health system where they are supposed to be able to be monitored and treated for free but who are overwhelmed after years of austerity.