A GP surgery has apologised after accidentally texting hundreds of patients telling them they had cancer, instead of wishing them a Merry Christmas.
The message was sent by mistake to patients at Askern Medical Practice near Doncaster on Friday December 23, informing them they had lung cancer. It was delivered to one person who had undergone tests for the condition, which caused their partner to burst into tears, reports the Sun.
Property developer Chris Reed, 57, tried to phone the surgery after his partner broke down following the text but found the lines were full. They rushed to the centre and were told on arrival that the message was a mistake and his cancer results were actually negative, LeedsLive reports.
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The text message has since been posted on social media by a number of upset patients. It read: "From the forwarded letters at CMP, Dr [name] has asked for you to do a DS1500 for the above patient. Diagnosis - Aggressive lung cancer with metastases."
Metastases is a term used when cancer has spread in a patient, making it more difficult to treat. DS1500 is a type of form used so that people with terminal illnesses can claim benefits.
Just 22 minutes after the shocking message was accidentally sent to patients, the surgery sent out another explaining that it had been circulated by mistake. In the second text, Askern Medical Practice offered its "sincere apologies" for the error and said the text should have in fact wished its patients "a very merry Christmas and a Happy New Year."
One patient took to Facebook to say they were "shaking and close to tears" after receiving the message. They said: "Something's clearly not right at Askern Medical Practice. Fuming. I received this message and I'm not the only one.
"I was shaking and close to tears. Quite a few in the surgery now with the same text. I was near the surgery and walked in to say 'what the hell?'. I'm not the only one, but people will now be worried if they've received this text."
Askern Medical Practice has been approached for comment.
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