Mr L complained to his GP practice that despite seeing several GPs on six different occasions, it took them almost ten months to diagnose his skin cancer (a malignant melanoma). During this time, the cancerous growth was twice misdiagnosed and was therefore treated incorrectly.
Although the Practice responded to Mr L’s complaints on three separate occasions, they did not acknowledge all the failings in Mr L’s care. They did, however, arrange clinical teaching for the GPs from a dermatology specialist to help improve identification of unusual skin cancers.
Mr L complained to us. He wanted an acknowledgement of, and apology for, the misdiagnosis of his cancer, and several improvements to the Practice itself.
After looking at Mr L’s complaint and taking advice from an independent GP it seemed clear to us that there had been failings by the GPs at the Practice. These failings had a significant impact on Mr L’s life. As a result of the misdiagnosis, Mr L’s cancer continued to grow, and he was placed at a greater risk of his cancer recurring or spreading to other organs in his body. He had to go on a trial drug to stop his cancer from spreading, and he was required to undergo periodic reviews to ensure his cancer had not reappeared or spread.
We shared our concerns with the Practice. They accepted all of our criticisms. They agreed to write to Mr L to acknowledge and apologise for the failings we had identified. They agreed to improve their service by introducing a standard template for recording the location, size and nature of unusual skin growths. They tightened up their criteria for cryotherapy treatment (freezing and destroying abnormal skin cells), their treatment timescales, and their communication protocols. They arranged for further learning for the GPs about skin cancers.