How the cancer screening error unfolded
Wednesday 2 May 2018 16:52, UK
Up to 270 women may have had their "lives shortened" after the NHS failed to invite them to breast screenings, the Health Secretary said.
We look back at how the case unfolded over a decade since the error first took place.
A computer algorithm failure means that women who are due to be screened for breast cancer fail to be invited for an appointment.
Public Health England (PHE) approach the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to inform them of the issue - but their advice is that the risk of life is limited.
The PHE comes back to the DHSC, escalating the matter. They advise the error should be kept secret from the public until a plan is in place - so that the existing screening programme would not be "overwhelmed".
A fix is put in place. No women are at risk of the error from this point on.
News of the error is made public, with Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt making a statement on the matter in the Commons.
Mr Hunt apologises "wholeheartedly and unreservedly for the suffering caused" and announces an independent review into the incident.
The report is due to be delivered within six months of Mr Hunt's announcement.