Utrecht Univ. hospital fined record €350k for delayed cancer revelation

The Utrecht University Medical Hospital must pay a record amount of 350 thousand euros in compensation to a woman who fell victim to a medical error. The woman was informed that she is suffering from cervical cancer two years after the diagnosis was made and is now terminally ill, NRC reports. According to the news agency, the woman was tested for cervical cancer in 2011 without her knowing it. Malignant cells were discovered, but due to an error, the test results ended up in a file without being red. An employee discovered the results by accident two years later. The patient was informed and treated, but to late. She is now terminally ill. Her life expectancy is less than a year. The hospital informed the Healthcare Inspectorate about the error in June this year, instead of directly after the error was discovered. Minister Edith Schippers of Public Health calls this mistake "awful". "It is terribly sad. Anyone who can empathize with the lady's situation even a little, can do nothing but sympathize with her incredibly", she said to RTL Nieuws. "What happened here, should never have happened." According to her, it is the task of the regulator to come up with possible measures to prevent similar situations in the future.