MORE than 2,000 women in Andalucia will have undergone necessary breast cancer tests by tomorrow after grave errors in the region’s screening programme.
The Junta confirmed in yesterday’s meeting that all women affected by the region’s cancer screening failures will have completed the indicated tests by tomorrow, apart from two individuals being seen at the Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocio de Sevilla who requested to complete their tests in December.
It was at the start of October, after a wave of complaints from women, that regional health officials acknowledged the flaws in communication and protocol that had left thousands unaware that they needed follow up tests after ‘doubtful’ or ‘inconclusive’ mammogram results.
READ MORE: Outrage in Andalucia as up to 2,000 women affected by errors in breast cancer screenings
A week on from admitting their mistakes, the Andaluz government said that they would have contacted all women and given them the opportunity to attend necessary screenings by November 30 – something which they have achieved.
Between October 6 and 10 all affected women were contacted and booked in for the necessary tests, the Junta claims.
It added that each person has received complete clinic information, the corresponding care pathway and the appointment for the necessary test as recommended.
During Wednesday’s meeting, updates were also given on the revision of the testing programme.
Patients will now receive simplified and unified information in letters, texts and on digital platform ClicSalud+-.
READ MORE: Andalucia to expand cancer screenings amid ongoing healthcare failures
The aim is to avoid technical jargon and guarantee communication between the women and professionals.
Improving ‘contact tracking’ of derived cases has been deemed necessary with systems set to be reorganised to avoid duplicate records, facilitate access to previous mammograms, and improve communications between hospitals, districts and units.
The meeting had a further focus on standardising the presentation of test results with clearer messages and two well defined categories, normal results and those that need to be studied further or may require additional testing.
The Junta has also prioritised the development of alarms and automatic controls in cancer screening systems to alert issues that require attention ‘more quickly’.
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