Freelance income reimbursed after Trust error

What happened

Mr G's left kidney was removed in early 2012 after clinicians found a cancer on it. Mr G had regular reviews and CT scans. In spring 2013, Mr G had a scan just before he had a morning appointment with an oncologist. That afternoon, a radiologist reported that there was a small mass on Mr G's remaining kidney that looked like cancer. However, the oncologist only picked this up when Mr G had another scan in autumn 2013, some seven months later. Mr G had a successful operation on his kidney later in 2013 but as a result, he was unable to fulfil lucrative freelance contracts. Mr G complained to us about the Trust's delay in informing him about the second tumour. He asked for compensation for the distress and loss of self–employed income, and he wanted the failures to be acknowledged.

What we found

The Trust failed to take action after Mr G's CT scan result in spring 2013. The oncologist wrote to Mr G's GP confirming that the scan showed no evidence of cancer, but wrote the letter before he had received the radiologist's report which confirmed the tumour. Although Mr G had freelance earnings during spring 2013, his losses would have been minimal if he had undergone the operation at that time. We agreed with the Trust that the delay made no difference to Mr G's prognosis or the operability, but this was good luck rather than design.

Putting it right

The Trust reimbursed Mr G £4,750 for the lost income caused by its delay in acting on the spring 2013 scan. It also apologised for the impact of the failings and explained what should have happened when scans were reported on the same day as review appointments, and how it would prevent the mistakes from happening again.