'I waited five months for cancer treatment only to be told it's cancelled due to IT crash'

A cancer patient who waited five months for an appointment arrived at the hospital to find it was cancelled after days of IT chaos. Duncan Berry said he was was told ‘it would not be safe for the consultant to see him’ as staff couldn't access his medical records.

Duncan has now been left with no idea how long it could be before he is seen again. He is wracked with 'anxiety on top of what he's already dealing with', fearing he could deteriorate as he is ‘added back onto the waiting list’ ‘with no contact advising how long this could be’.

NHS staff have said that thousands of patients are being affected by delays to care, caused by a major IT failure across four hospitals in Greater Manchester. The IT issues have caused chaos with electronic prescribing, viewing patients’ medical records, finding test results - as well forcing appointments and surgeries to be cancelled.

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Duncan was scheduled to go to Bury’s Fairfield General Hospital on May 23. But after he arrived, he was told the appointment would not be going ahead, claims Duncan.

“I attended my lead consultant appointment back in January and I was put on several other consultants waiting lists. The appointment on Monday was the first one after a five-month wait," the 55-year-old told the Manchester Evening News .

Have you been affected by the IT chaos? Call the M.E.N. newsdesk on 0161 211 2920 or email helena.vesty@reachplc.com

“I went to Fairfield Hospital and was met by feverish staff. I brought the referral letter and the nurse said ‘let me speak to the consultant because you’re a new patient’.

“The staff member came back 10 minutes later, and her words were: ‘It