Oops. Sorry! Here, have some tea.

Health bosses apologise over brain illness blunder

A man who was diagnosed with an incurable brain illness 20 years ago has now been told he does not, in fact, have Huntingdon’s disease after both his wife and daughters terminated pregnancies for fear of passing on the disease.

The patient, known only as Mr C, was told in 1989 – while in his early 30’s – that he was a likely sufferer of Huntingdon’s.

The disease causes brain deterioration in later life, and Mr C and his family lived in fear of the day he would succumb to the symptoms.

But in 2007 – 18 years after the original diagnosis – he was retested, and told he did not have the illness at all.

Now a complaint against NHS Lothian and Edinburgh’s Western General hospital, where he was treated, has been upheld and health bosses have been forced to apologise.

Wow. Fail all around.

A) You’d think with such a dire diagnosis, the NHS would have been a bit more diligent about making sure they got it right.

B) You’d think with such a dire diagnosis, “Mr. C” and his family would have been a bit more diligent about getting a second opinion before they underwent mass abortions. After all, health care is free in Britainland, so I’m told, so I’d go in for a second, third, friggen’ fortieth opinion until they nailed it down. Expense? hell, it’s free!
C) You think British lawyers (barristers, or whatever the hell they’re called over yonder) would be a bit more diligent about sueing the crap out of everyone involved for a bit more than a forced appology.