Serious incident in health care - delay of cancer treatment

Examinations of a patient gave rise to suspicions that the patient had pancreatic cancer. The patient was referred between several care providers and the treatment was delayed. It took at least four months from the time there was a well-founded suspicion of the cancer diagnosis until treatment was initiated. The patient has since then been operated on with good results.

According to standardized care procedures for pancreatic cancer, the lead time from the time there is a well-founded suspicion of the diagnosis to the start of treatment is either 36 or 56 days, depending on whether it is a tumour in the exocrine or endocrine pancreas.

SHK investigates the incident on the basis of section 3 of the Accident Investigation Ordinance (1990:717).