Northern Trust: Over 9,000 patients contacted in review

A review into the work of a radiologist is a matter of "the gravest concern" and will happen as quickly as possible, the health minister has said.

More than 9,000 Northern Trust patients have been contacted in a review of the locum consultant's work.

The consultant was "engaged" between July 2019 and February 2020 and reported on 13,030 images in that time.

When concerns were raised by the General Medical Council (GMC), 30 CT scans were reviewed.

Following that, a full lookback review of all radiology reports issued by the locum has begun.

Health Minister Robin Swann told the Northern Ireland Assembly that the review would be "comprehensive".

"I want to assure members of the public that correct and appropriate steps are being taken by the trust to quickly and thoroughly identify any potential for harm to these patients and to take any follow-up action as may be necessary," he said.

Health Minister Robin Swann said the review would happen as quickly as possible

Some patients may have to be recalled for clinical assessment and two serious adverse incidents reviews - the highest level hospital investigation - have been launched.

A radiologist analyses images such as x-rays, ultrasounds, CT scans and MRIs.

The trust is aiming to complete the review by October.

It says breast services are not affected and are not part of the review.

'Prioritising high-risk images'

A GMC spokesperson said it was investigating the "serious concerns" and would be working closely with the Northern Trust throughout the process.

"As with all concerns raised with us, we can and do take action where we find evidence of an immediate or ongoing risk to patient safety," the spokesperson added.

The Northern Trust's medical director, Dr Seamus O'Reilly, said: "First and foremost, I'd like to apologise to all 9,091 of those patients who have received a letter today or may receive a letter over the next few days, for any anxiety or concern that it may create for them.

"We feel that there are very small numbers of patients who would be directly impacted as a result of this and that [for] the vast majority of those patients reporting will be of a satisfactory standard."

Dr O'Reilly said the trust had written to 9,091 patients or their parents/guardians, where appropriate, to make them aware of the review.

He said: "Those letters were all posted first class and should start arriving today and over the next few days. If people do not receive a letter, it means that their images are not included in the review."

Earlier he said the idea was "to try to prioritise what we consider to be the high-risk images".

Dr O'Reilly said the locum was understood to still be working "within the UK".

'Worrying and anxious time'

The images were all taken at Antrim Area Hospital, Causeway Hospital, Whiteabbey Hospital, Mid Ulster Hospital or the Ballymena Health and Care Centre.

The trust said no other hospitals or healthcare facilities were involved.

The images being examined include 1,100 CT scans, 300 MRI reports, more than 11,000 x-rays and 330 ultrasound reports, taken for a variety of reasons.

"We appreciate that this will be a worrying and anxious time for those who do receive a letter," said Dr O'Reilly.

"I would stress that all of the images relating to the 9,091 patients will be reviewed, but based on our initial audit, we estimate that less than 7% may have experienced a delay in diagnosis as a result of unsatisfactory image reporting.

"That does not mean that they will all have come to harm as a result but we will be making a further clinical assessment in each of those cases."

Analysis

This is the latest in a series of reviews being carried out across the health service in Northern Ireland.

A statutory public inquiry has been ordered into the work of consultant urologist Aidan O'Brien, who retired from the Southern Trust in June 2020.

More than 1,000 patients' records were recalled.

And a consultant neurologist at the Belfast Trust is at the centre of the largest ever recall of patients in Northern Ireland.

Approximately 3,000 patients were linked to the work of Dr Michael Watt at the Royal Victoria Hospital.

The Independent Neurological Inquiry, established in May 2018, was converted to a public inquiry last year.

Belfast Trust has said he is no longer an employee.

Meanwhile, Sinn Féin North Antrim MLA Philip McGuigan said he had been contacted by a number of very concerned constituents who described it as a "massive shock" to receive letters informing them of the review.

He said he spoke to one woman who felt the wording of her letter was very vague and had been shocked by the news.

"This isn't the first review - the DoH have seen quite a number of recalls in the last few years," he said.

"What lessons will the DoH learn from this in terms of how it communicates with patients and how it supports patients in this?"

Mr Swann confirmed that the locum is no longer working in Northern Ireland.

The trust said it intends to contact all patients with information as their images are reviewed, and where necessary, further imaging or follow-up appointments will be arranged "very quickly".

Support is being provided for any patient with concerns.

A helpline is available for any patients with concerns - freephone 0800 023 4377 - and a dedicated e-mail address - [e-mail] - has been set up.