A man died of cancer after being turned away by the NHS and deciding not to pay £65 for a private medical test which might have caught the disease.
Gregor Lynn, 24, had a lesion on the back of his neck removed privately in March 2019. The removed lesion was not sent for analysis, “likely” due to the extra cost of getting the material checked privately.
By May 2020, the lesion recurred and was found to be cancer which had spread to other parts of his body and was then beyond treatment.
Caroline Jones, Assistant Coroner for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, has issued a Prevention of Future Deaths report to NHS England, the Department of Health and Social Care, and Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Integrated Care System.
Ms Jones said while she was unable to conclude whether the cancer would have been detected if the lesion had been sent for analysis, it was concerning that the cost prevented Mr Lynn from undergoing a complete procedure.
The report details how Mr Lynn failed to meet the criteria required for referral to the NHS for treatment. He sought treatment privately, at a cost of some £140. It would have cost an extra £65 to have the sample checked for cancer, but Mr Lynn’s reason for not paying the extra charge is not given in the report.
The report says Mr Lynn’s GP referred him to dermatology after the lesion began troubling him again in May 2020. A further excision was carried out with analysis showing it was a melanoma.
An ultrasound scan showed the cancer had spread to his lymph nodes, chest wall and lungs. Mr Lynn underwent medical treatment, including immunotherapy, but scans showed the cancer had spread to his brain, indicating his condition was terminal.
Mr Lynn died at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge on July 8, 2022, just over two years since the first test.
Ms Jones writes in the report that evidence received at an inquest into Mr Lynn’s death from clinicians was that the extra costs for tests was a “common disincentive” to patients who would regularly opt not to have the further tests carried out.
On the NHS, extra testing is routinely included at no charge to the patient.
She added: “While it is acknowledged that there have to be criteria for routine and non-emergency procedures to be conducted on the NHS, my concern relates to the disparity in what is included within the treatment when undertaken privately (where histological analysis is a separate and additional cost) and what is routinely included as part of NHS treatment
“It therefore seems to me that there is a risk of future deaths if patients not meeting the NHS referral criteria, who have to pay for procedures to be carried out privately, opt on cost grounds not to have the histological analysis which would otherwise be provided on the NHS at no charge.”
Ms Jones added it is “well-established fact” that earlier detection and treatment is “crucial” in minimising the risks of developing metastatic cancers, including melanoma.
NHS England, the Department of Health and Social Care, and Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Integrated Care System have until February 14 to respond to the report.
