Around ten people have died from cancer after a blunder meant they were not invited for NHS screening, it has emerged.
Up to ten other victims have been diagnosed with the disease, which may have been detected earlier, the Government added.
Cancer Research UK last night described the blunder as ‘unacceptable’ and said the revelation will be ‘extremely worrying’ for anyone eligible for screening.
In a written ministerial statement, health minister Ashley Dalton said about 5,200 people had missed out on invitations due to an error which dates back to 2008.
The issue occurred when their GP registration process was ‘not completed correctly, meaning their details were not passed to NHS screening system’, Ms Dalton said.
It affected the bowel, breast and cervical cancer screening programmes, as well as abdominal aortic aneurysm screening.
Health officials have written to those affected this week and NHS England has opened a helpline.
The mistake first came to light in summer last year when people contacted the health service to say they had not been invited for screening.
In a written ministerial statement, health minister Ashley Dalton said that the NHS has written to those people affected
NHS England launched an investigation which identified an issue with GP registration.
Ms Dalton said that the issue did not affect the diabetic eye screening programme, or any of the antenatal or newborn screening programmes.
She added: ‘Records indicate that up to 10 patients have been diagnosed with a relevant cancer and were not invited for certain screening.
‘The impact on these patients is not yet known and a clinical harm assessment process will be undertaken, based on expert clinical advice.
‘It is with deep sadness that I must report that records also indicate that around 10 people who were not invited for screening may have died from a relevant cancer.’
Steve Russell, NHS England’s national director for vaccinations and screening, said: ‘The NHS is contacting 5,261 people who have not been invited for screening due to their GP registration not being fully completed.
Health officials failed to invite more than 5,000 patients for routine checks after an IT error affected bowel, breast and cervical cancer screening programmes
‘This issue has now been fixed and everyone affected will be offered support and any catch-up screening as soon as possible, including where they may now be above screening age.
‘We would like to extend our sincere apologies to those affected for this error and any additional worry this may have caused.’
Dr Ian Walker, executive director of policy at Cancer Research UK, said: ‘Bowel, breast and cervical screening programmes are in place to help diagnose cancer early or prevent it developing in people without symptoms, and everyone who’s eligible should be invited to take part.
‘It’s unacceptable that some people haven’t received an invitation, and we welcome NHS England’s announcement that there will be a full review to understand how this happened.
‘This news will be extremely worrying for anyone who’s eligible to take part in screening so, if you think you are eligible but haven’t been invited, you can check with your GP.’