Skåne University Hospital reports 18 cases where cancer patients have waited too long for examination and treatment, which may have worsened their diagnosis, announces Region Skåne.
The report is made to the Health and Social Care Inspectorate (Ivo) according to lex Maria.
More specifically, it concerns 18 patients who had aggressive types of cancer in the bladder, kidney pelvis, or ureter. Nine of them later died.
"I deeply regret that the waiting times have affected the patients and the suffering it has entailed. It is a very serious disease and it is difficult to say to what extent the delays have affected the patients' prognosis," says Jenny Hellfalk, head of urology at the hospital, in a press release.
The delays occurred between 2018-2021 and affected 15 men and three women, all between 50-80 years old.
The 18 reports follow 17 previous reports for the same problem, reports that were made in 2018 and 2019.
"It's about small delays in different stages, but which together become too long and may have affected the disease progression or risked doing so," says Jenny Hellfalk.
All affected departments have drawn up action plans to shorten the waiting times.
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