Man dies of SCC following GP failures
His usual GP and a skin clinic doctor both departed from acceptable practice, says NZ health commissioner
A man in his fifties died from squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) following a series of communication errors by two GPs, including a forgotten surgical referral, the NZ health commission has found.
The man presented to his usual GP in June 2015 complaining of a right sore ear with a scab that wouldn’t heal.
The GP took photos of the lesion for a surgical referral but didn’t realise she had forgotten to send it until the man contacted the practice again in September to say a skin clinic GP told him it needed to be removed.
The skin clinic GP eventually removed the lesion but the man’s usual GP was not informed of the surgery or sent biopsy results showing invasive SCC, according to Health and Disability Commissioner Anthony Hill.
