ACCIDENT and emergency procedures have been reviewed after a man with advanced lung cancer was TWICE diagnosed with muscular pain in error and discharged.

An inquiry found the patient had gone to the A&E department of Inverclyde Royal in Greenock on two occasions complaining of worsening neck pain and blood in his urine.

However, the patient, who has only been identified as Mr A, was diagnosed with a muscular neck condition on two occasions and the case was not referred to more senior doctors.

The man was later diagnosed with lung cancer which had spread to the vertebrae in his neck.

His wife complained to the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman, Jim Martin, about his care, saying that his cancer could have been diagnosed earlier if the appropriate tests had taken place.

Mr Martin upheld the complaint after concluding the diagnosis was “not reasonable” in light of his symptoms.

He took independent advice from a consultant in A&E care, a respiratory consultant and a urology consultant and concluded: “We found that there had been issues in the two attendances at the A&E department. The advice we received was that the diagnosis that Mr A had received was not reasonable and that other issues had not been appropriately considered.

“The A&E adviser highlighted that after Mr A’s second attendance, it would have been reasonable to discuss his case with more senior doctors.”

The health board has been told to apologise to the family for “failings in his care” provided by the hospital’s A&E department. It has also been told to review the procedures for “escalating” patients who are presenting with symptoms which could indicate a serious underlying cause to more senior staff .

A spokeswoman for NHSGGC said: “We have today received the Ombudsman’s decision letter and fully accept the recommendations. We will be formally writing to the family offering our sincere apologies for the failings in this patient’s care and to reiterate our sympathies for the family’s loss.

“We have already put in place an action plan to ensure that patients presenting with progressive symptoms are escalated to more senior staff for further review. We have also discussed the complaint with appropriate staff and will share the Ombudsman’s findings with the local Senior Management Team.”

This incident comes amid calls for better co-ordination between health bodies and cancer organisations to boost survival rates from lung cancer.

Scotland and Wales fare worse than Northern Ireland and England, and for survival rates.The UK Lung Cancer Coalition said a new IT system used in England for auditing lung cancer could double survival rates.