The trust which runs Royal Oldham Hospital has paid out almost £2m in damages for cancer misdiagnosis and delayed diagnosis in the last five years, new data has shown.

Between 2019 and 2023, The Northern Car Alliance (NCA) NHS Trust has paid out the damages across 22 total cases, the second highest amount of cases to be settled by a trust during that span.

The data was obtained by Medical Negligence Assist (MNA) following a series of Freedom of Information requests to NHS Resolution.

This showed that in total, the NCA faced 38 claims, of which the 22 that were closed or settled costing the trust £1,926,317.

The damages paid by the NCA were the sixth highest of all trusts in the UK between 2019 and 2023.

The data shows 11 claims and incidents were received by NHS Resolution between 2019/2020, with seven lodged between 2020/2021, eight between 2021/2022 and a five-year high of 12 claims recorded between 2022/2023.

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In total, the NHS paid out £128m in damages to patients throughout the UK during this time period for reasons including failure to interpret x-ray, failure to follow up arrangements, failure to act on abnormal test results and wrong diagnosis.

Liez Fletcher-Parker, lead cancer manager at the NCA, said:  "Waiting for cancer diagnosis and treatment is a worrying time for patients and we recognise that we are not where we would like to be. Our recent data show that our referral time for cancer diagnosis has improved.  

"We are doing even more testing, this being possible as a result of the opening of Community Diagnostic Centres in Salford and Oldham and improved access to CT and MR tests allowing for earlier diagnosis.

"The work does not stop here, and we are constantly working together as an integrated system in Greater Manchester looking at ways to improve cancer care for patients."

The NCA says it has introduced a Teledermatology Pathway that has resulted in 45 per cent of patients being directed via this service within seven days of referral.

Nick Banks, head of medical negligence at MNA, Nick Banks said: “Whilst claiming against medical insurance agencies can seem daunting, such claims are the best way to ensure funding is made available for all of the patient’s short-term and longer-term needs. 

“This can make a real difference to how quickly that patient is able to regain their former quality of life.

“Bringing such claims can also help the medical profession to identify important areas of improvement, hopefully ensuring that no future patients ever fall victim to the same mistakes.”