Instead of Happy New Year, UK patients receive metastatic cancer text
The Askern Medical Practice in the city of Doncaster in the UK sent out the wrong texts informing the patients that they had advanced lung cancer.
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A man using his Apple iPhone 4 smartphone (Reuters)
Several patients in the UK received SMS messages claiming they had a dangerous disease rather than the intended holiday pleasantries.
The Askern Medical Practice in the city of Doncaster intended to send messages to their patients two days before Christmas, wishing them a "merry Christmas and happy New Year" but instead sent out texts informing them that the recipient had advanced lung cancer.
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A screenshot mistaken text message
An hour later, a second message notified them of the error, apologized, and wished them a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. There are approximately 8,000 patients at the GP surgery.
Sarah Hargreaves, a patient who was awaiting medical test results, said, as quoted by the BBC, that she "broke down" when she received the SMS.
Another patient speculated that the first text was "some kind of sick joke."
