An NHS hospital in Colchester, Essex, is reported to the police amid concern that delays in cancer treatment may have put patients’ lives at risk.
Inspectors from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) found that some cancer patients at Colchester Hospital suffered “undue delays”, compounded by “inaccuracies” in waiting time figures.
Staff told inspectors they were “pressured or bullied” to change data on patients and their treatment to make it seem like people were being treated in line with national guidelines, a CQC spokesman said. As a result some patients may not have had the treatment they needed in time.
The watchdog has passed its findings to Essex Police, he said.
It is shocking to think that people’s lives may have been put at risk for the sake of the waiting time figures. Professor Sir Mike Richards, Chief Inspector of Hospitals
A force spokesman said: “Essex Police has been contacted by the CQC and is currently reviewing information it has provided to establish whether a criminal investigation is necessary.”
When inspectors visited the trust in August and September they checked the national cancer waiting times system against patient records and found discrepancies in the records and types of treatment recorded for some cancer patients, the CQC said.
The spokesman said that of the 61 care records examined, 22 showed that people had been “placed at risk of receiving care that was unsafe or not effective, due to delays in receiving appointments or treatment”.
In some cases people did not receive the treatment within the required 62 days, and in three cases delays exceeded 100 days.
Even though an internal trust investigation in 2012 identified concerns, hospital bosses failed to investigate the allegations thoroughly or follow up with the patients who were affected, the watchdog said.
The CQC said that the trust has written to 30 patients – or their next of kin, where patients have died – offering to review their treatment.
Professor Sir Mike Richards, the newly appointed chief inspector of hospitals, has recommended that the hospital is put into special measures by regulator Monitor.
He said: “If you are diagnosed with cancer, you are entitled to think that your hospital will do all they can to ensure you get treatment you need as soon as possible.
“It is shocking to think that people’s lives may have been put at risk for the sake of the waiting time figures.
“We have found that the concerns raised by staff in relation to changes made to people’s cancer pathways were not appropriately managed or investigated by senior staff of the trust, which is why I am now recommending that this trust should be placed in special measures.”
Dr Gordon Coutts, chief executive of the trust, said: “We are very concerned by the findings of the CQC report.
“We are truly sorry that in some cases cancer patients, their carers and families have not always received the high quality of care that they should have expected from our trust.
“We sincerely apologise to those who we have let down and for the worry, distress and concern that the publication of today’s report is likely to raise.
“We want to reassure patients and the wider public that we have already taken action in response to the findings of the report and we will continue to take action to address all of the concerns raised by the CQC.”