AUTHORITIES have launched a probe into a Malaga cancer screening programme after hundreds of patients were wrongly told they may have colon cancer.
Prosecutors are investigating whether the false-positive scandal could amount to a criminal offence as an estimated 400 patients wait to re-take their tests, according to media reports.
The screening programme, overseen by the Andalucian Health Service (SAS), is designed to detect colon cancer at an early stage among Malaga residents aged between 50 and 69.
However, outrage swept through the regional health department after a Malaga hospital reported ‘an unusually high number’ of false positives last month, making all test results from that batch unreliable.
READ MORE: Malaga colon cancer screening errors for hundreds of patients
With hundreds of patients in Malaga still waiting for clarity over whether they have colon cancer, patient associations have criticised the local health department over what they described as its ‘laziness’ and ‘lack of interest’.
Carmen Flores, president of the El Defensor del Paciente association, told The Olive Press: “This is unforgivable, a disgrace.
“We have hundreds of patients living with stress and fear, when these programmes should really be saving lives.
“I do not know why administrations are taking so long to act. It could be laziness, it could be a lack of interest in their citizens – either way, I’ll say this again, it’s just unforgivable.”
Flores confirmed to this paper that prosecutors launched their investigation only after her association filed a complaint with Malaga’s Prosecutor’s Office.
“Why wait for us to flag something like this? Shouldn’t an investigation be automatic in these cases?” she said.
The local health department had previously said the false positives were caused by a ‘technical issue’.
In a statement, it added that those affected had been invited to repeat their tests.
The programme was based on faecal occult blood tests (FOBT), which detect tiny traces of blood in stool samples that are not visible to the naked eye.
While a positive result can be an early warning sign of bowel cancer, it can also be caused by a range of other conditions and does not, on its own, constitute a diagnosis.
Patients with positive results are normally referred for further investigations, such as a colonoscopy.
Click here to read more Health News from The Olive Press.
