Brits could be misdiagnosed with Diabetes after NHS mix-up | UK | News


Over 10,000 Brits could have been misdiagnosed with a silent killer after an NHS blood test mix-up.

Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has revealed it recently had an “intermittent issue” with one of its blood test machines.

The machine carries out HbA1c blood tests and checks for diabetes at Luton and Dunstable University Hospital.

The trust says the issue may have caused a mix-up of blood samples which “may have resulted in some patients receiving HbA1c results that were potentially higher than actual”.

Around 11,000 patients in south Bedfordshire are at risk of being affected. The trust is in the process of contacting them.

A spokesman said: “You may receive a call from the hospital in the coming weeks asking you to come and have another blood sample taken for re-testing. Please be assured that we will contact you if your result might have been affected.

“We are asking residents to please avoid calling the hospital or their GP to ask whether they need to be re-tested because we need to focus our effort on arranging the retests with those patients who need them.

“Please do not attend an HbA1c retest if you have not been directly contacted by the hospital either by phone or letter. If you have received a letter, please ensure you have the blood request form provided with you. If you attend and do not need a test, you will be turned away.”

The trust also offered an apology to patients for the mixup: “We sincerely apologise for any emotional distress and inconvenience that has been caused by this issue.”

“We are undertaking a detailed review to find out what went wrong and identify any learning.”

Type 2 diabetes is a common condition that causes the level of sugar (glucose) in the blood to become too high. It’s caused by problems with a chemical in the body (hormone) called insulin.

It’s often linked to being overweight, inactive, or having a family history of type 2 diabetes. It’s a long-term condition that can affect your everyday life.

It can cause symptoms like excessive thirst, needing to pee a lot and tiredness. Many people have no symptoms but it can increase your risk of getting serious problems with your eyes, feet, heart and nerves.

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