Santo António Hospital, in Porto
Local health unit justified the “temporal lapse” between the realization of the diagnosis and its communication to the family with the fact that the external consultation was not scheduled.
The local health unit of Santo António (Ulssa), in Porto, It took seven months to communicate to family members of an 82 -year -old man the diagnosis of a tumor, Indicates a deliberation of the health regulatory entity released today.
This case dates back to October 9, 2023, when the user entered the hospital emergency room due to a fall, being admitted to the urology service and being operated on 22 of the same month for drainage and resection of prostate fragments, and the harvests were sent to the pathological anatomy.
When he was discharged, on November 3, 2023, a External consultation Urology for December 7 of the same yearwhich did not attend for being hospitalized again, refers to the document.
On November 6, 2023, after having discharged, the Pathological Anatomy Report was available, which concluded that “prostate involvement by primitive adenocarcinoma of the colon” was available.
According to the Health Regulatory Entity (ERS), only on June 18, 2024, when the user attended an external consultation of urology, the “Diagnosis of colic tumor is transmitted to the family.”
“There were seven months between the publication of the result of the complementary medium of diagnosis and therapeutic and their communication to the user/family members, on June 18, 2024,” concluded ERS.
ULSSA justified this “Temporary period” Seven months between the realization of the diagnosis and its communication to the family with the fact that the external consultation was scheduled for December 7, 2023, claiming that “there was no opportunity to communicate the outcome of the prostate’s endoscopic resection that revealed Colon’s primitive adenocarcinoma with prostate invasion”.
According to the deliberation, after the non -comparison of the user in the external consultation because it was hospitalized in the urology service, “no other communication diligence was made to the user and/or their relatives of the result ”of the diagnostic examination.
Faced with this, ERS concluded that Ulssa “did not fulfill the obligation, which on him prevented, to ensure timely communication ”of the test result, whose results“ may imply urgency in the use of health care and defining care plan ”.
This case led the regulator to issue an instruction to Ulssa so that, among other points, implement the procedures for ensure that the results of any complementary diagnostic tests are delivered and or communicated to users, as experienced as possible, “especially when these results imply urgency in the use of health care.”
ERS became aware of this case through a complaint made by the daughter From the user with dementia, who died in July 2024.
In response to ERS, Ulssa said that a warning system was in a warning system internally developed by the local clinical computerization commission, to ensure that critical results, under the activity of the pathological anatomy service, are timely consulted by the patient responsible for the patient.
