Cover-up claim over chemotherapy bungle that cancer patient fears will kill him

CANCER patient Andrew Knox fears he may die because of a chemotherapy dosing bungle that he alleges has been covered up.

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CANCER patient Andrew Knox is angry that a senior doctor signed off on an incorrect chemotherapy dose without checking. He is furious that when the mistake was discovered, it was “covered up” so the Royal Adelaide Hospital failed to alert Flinders Medical Centre where he was being treated. And he is frightened this may kill him.

Mr Knox, 66, a former advertising agency owner and industrial advocate, was the seriously ill patient admitted to Flinders Medical Centre and given half the chemotherapy he should have had two days after the mistake was uncovered at the RAH.

“I think they’ve potentially killed me,” he said.

“I know that my best chance of survival was unquestionably compromised. No one will be able to convince my family otherwise.”

An independent review by Professor Villis Marshall found that when the RAH Haematology Unit realised its mistake, it sent out an innocuous group email headed “updated AML ... protocol uploaded”. There was no alert, no sign that a serious error had been in place for six months and nothing to draw attention to the change.

Two days later, Mr Knox went into the FMC, which used the RAH protocols without checking them, and began a cycle of chemotherapy at half the proper dose.

“It clearly was an error, it was one that had life-threatening potential and it was one that should have been advised immediately,” Mr Knox told The Advertiser. “It was covered up.”

Mr Knox, currently in remission and recovering his strength, was one of ten acute myeloid leukaemia patients, or their families, sent letters of apology yesterday by SA Health Department chief executive David Swan, who drew attention to “significant clinical governance failures” at the RAH Haematology Unit.

“It was clear that certain clinical staff did not comply with SA Health incident management and open disclosure policies,” Mr Swan said.

He personally apologised for the distress and anxiety the mistake had caused and said he and Health Minister Jack Snelling supported the inquiry’s recommendations, which included potentially referring doctors to the disciplinary board, the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency.

Of the ten patients who were wrongly treated, two have relapsed and died, including one who fell ill early this year and whose funeral was on Thursday. That patient was told of the report’s findings by Professor Marshall a few days before his death. A family member said yesterday the family was convinced his death resulted from the chemotherapy mix-up.

“He was in total remission and then he quickly came out again,” he said. “There was a direct link.”

He called on Mr Snelling to make sure the doctors responsible were called to account, although the inquiry recommended only that this be considered.

“‘Give consideration’ means they don’t have to do very much,” he said. “I want Mr Snelling to make sure the truth gets out.”

In his letter, Mr Swan said the Central Adelaide Local Health Network would respond by February 2016.