These days it seems that nobody can ever get through to their doctors’ practice. But one GP surgery left their patients wishing that was still the case this week after accidentally texting them to inform that they had aggressive lung cancer – instead of wishing them a merry Christmas.
Askern Medical Practice in Doncaster sent the text message to residents registered with the surgery on Friday 23 December. Distraught locals said they received an initial text informing them that they had an ‘aggressive lung cancer with metastases’, a type of secondary malignant growth. The text even directed patients to fill out a form for people with terminal diseases to claim certain benefits. But an hour later people received a second text telling them it was an error and it was meant to wish them a message of festive greetings instead. Whoops!
One furious user – Mr Carl Chegwin – expostulated to BBC Yorkshire: ‘It’s not often I go to the doctors, then out of the blue, it’s cancer.
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