A CONSULTANT told an investigation he didn't always have time to check blood test results properly.
NHS Lanarkshire has been ordered to improve procedures after "significant failings" led to a delay in treating a man with bowel cancer.
Blood tests showed the patient had abnormally low levels of haemoglobin - but the abnormal result was not flagged up by lab staff to the patient's consultant as required.
When the doctor received the test results, he "took no further action".
He later told an investigation into the incident that his ability to check results was "dependant on availability."
Tests carried out two months after the initial bloods on July 24 2014 revealed he had bowel cancer that had spread to his liver.
Two complaints against NHS Lanarkshire was upheld by Jim Martin, Scottish Public Services Ombudsman relating to diagnosis and treatment.
The board has been ordered to carry out a full review of the tracking of test results.
Mr Martin said: "Consultants need specific time in their jobs dedicated to checking results.
"This is too important a matter to be dependant on availability.
"I did now find the board's process for tracking results to be robust and my advisor said that, without reassurance about this, there is no certainty that such an error will not happen again.
"Implementing the correct protocol for abnormal test results could have avoided the errors that arose in this case, and should have resulted in Mr A getting treatment earlier and receiving an earlier diagnosis of his condition.
A spokesman for NHS Lanarkshire said: "We regret any instance where we have failed to maintain the highest standard of care and we would like to take this opportunity to apologise to the patient and his family for the distress this has caused.
"We have fully accepted the recommendations contained within the Ombudsman's report. We will develop an action plan to address the areas highlighted within the report and to ensure that lessons learned are shared across NHS Lanarkshire to prevent a similar situation arising in the future".
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