NHS apologises for wrongfully diagnosing man with Huntington's

Healthcare News
29/01/2010
The case of a man with Huntington's disease has come into the public eye, following the admittance that he was wrongly diagnosed.

An outlet of the NHS has given its deepest apologies to a man who was wrongly diagnosed as having Huntington's disease, the hereditary brain condition.

Known only as Mr C, the man was told in his early 30s that he was likely to have the incurable condition and that there was a good chance that he had passed it onto his daughters.

Yet almost 20 years later, he was subjected to a new test which concluded that Mr C did not have Huntington's disease at all.

The case has since been investigated by the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman after the complaint was lodged by Mr C.

Melanie Hornett, the NHS Lothian nurse director, said: "We are deeply sorry for the anxiety and distress caused to Mr C and his family and would like to publicly apologise.

"This was an exceptional case and we have accepted and implemented the recommendations of the report."

Find out how Barchester works to create safe and understanding environments for those living with Huntington's Disease.