Breast cancer error '˜affected 9,000 women'

Health secretary Jeremy Hunt revealed last month that a failed computer algorithm meant around 450,000 women across the country were not notified about their final routine screening.

The fault dating back to 2009 meant many women aged between 68 and 71 missed their appointments.

In a Portsmouth City Council health overview report, Public Health England stated: ‘Working estimates, for the purposes of planning the additional capacity, suggest around 9,000 women from Hampshire and the Isle of Wight are included in the incident.

‘The number is also approximate because the figures are provided by programmes and do not neatly match to local authority areas.’

It is thought between 135 and 270 women in England could have had their lives shortened as a result.

In a separate statement Duncan Selbie, chief executive of Public Health England, said: ‘Our priority throughout has been the wellbeing of affected women and giving them the support they need.

‘I would like to reiterate our heartfelt and unreserved apology that this has happened.

‘We welcome the terms of reference of the independent review and we will work fully with them to ensure it cannot happen again.’

Jeremy Hunt this week confirmed there would be a review into what happened.

He said: ‘I can now confirm that we have agreed the terms of reference for this review, details of which are attached to this statement.

‘The chairs are considering how best to involve affected women, their families and wider stakeholders and will release information on this when it is available.’