Hundreds Face Breast Cancer Recall

Hundreds of women in Dorset have been recalled for further breast cancer screening by a hospital over fears that a junior doctor failed to follow proper procedures.

Around 250 patients who attended a clinic at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital between January 2011 and July last year have been asked back to have reassessments.

It comes after consultants raised concerns regarding the doctor, who is no longer working there, and the way in which an initial assessment of some patients may have been carried out.

The Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital, said in a statement that the assessments ''potentially did not meet our usual high standards''.

Tony Skene, Consultant Breast Surgeon, said: ''Although we have found no evidence of any harm, the safety of our patients is our number one priority. This is why as a precaution we are making additional contact with some patients and offering a further consultation.

The vast majority of patients who have attended the breast clinic at Bournemouth during this time remain unaffected. We do however realise that for those patients that we do recall this may lead to additional anxiety and we apologise for the distress that this may cause.

The trust is being proactive with this recall which is about clinical standards. There are no other concerns. I want to assure all patients we contact that they will be offered a prompt appointment with access to a support telephone line in the interim should they need it.''