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14
Sep 2016
Heart patient lives put at risk by NHS failing to roll out simple heart test
The NTproBNP test to detect heart failure, which costs £28 per patient, has been available throughout the UK for approaching 20 years. However, according to a report by the All Parliamentary Group on Heart Disease, a third of hospitals are not offering the test to patients.
The test, which diagnoses heart failure by detecting hormone levels in the blood, has been available in the UK for almost 20 years and, despite being told to offer the test by a health watchdog, a third of hospitals are still not doing so.
The report warns that 38 per cent of patients remain misdiagnosed, with many being told that they had a cough, asthma, or even stress, and estimates that by offering the test throughout the UK, the NHS would save £3.8 million a year.
The British Heart Foundation’s Dr Mike Knapton, said that these failures in diagnosis were ‘costing lives’.
He went on to say “Not only does it have a high mortality, it is very debilitating. If you don’t make the diagnosis, you don’t give people the right treatment, their quality of life will be adversely affected.
“If you don’t diagnose and treat heart failure properly, with specialist cardiac input, your mortality will be adversely affected.”
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Posted by Tony May, Partner/head of Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (tonymay@chadlaw.co.uk ), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.
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