Instead of 'Merry Christmas', UK Hospital Mistakenly Sends 'Lung Cancer' SMS To Patients

Text messages can either break or make your day. If they're sent by the wrong person or with the incorrect details, it can cause panic.?As per a BBC report, a hospital in England accidentally texted "aggressive lung cancer" to hundreds of patients instead of the usual "Merry Christmas" greetings from doctors.

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On December 23, text messages sent to patients at the Askern Medical Center in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, were said to have given them a false diagnosis.

Patients were asked via text messages to fill out a DS-1500 form, which is necessary for terminally ill people to apply for some benefits. Patients were diagnosed with "aggressive lung cancer with metastases," the report said.

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Askern Medical Practice sent a second text message one hour later: "Please accept our sincere apologies for the previous text message sent."

"This has been sent in error. Our message to you should have read: "We wish you a very merry Christmas and a Happy New year."?

"In an emergency, please call NHS 111 or email no-reply.text@nhs.net."

Carl Chegwin, one of the patients who received the wrong texts, spoke to BBC and said:

"The first thing I thought was, 'is this some kind of sick joke?'.It completely took me by surprise... It's not often I go to the doctor, then, out of the blue; it's cancer. I'm sat there scratching my head thinking, 'I do smoke; do they know something I don't?'"

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"They've just told people a few days before Christmas that they've got terminal lung cancer. They can't do that."

Chris Reed, a 58-year-old property developer from Norton, is quoted as saying in The Independent that his partner cried when he received the message after reading it.

Mr. Reed said he made a prompt effort to get in touch to schedule surgery but could not do so due to the busy lines.?

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