How Many Others Are Still in the Dark? - Misreported Cardiac MRIs at Derby Hospital Under Review

At Freeths, we’re currently supporting a client who came to us after being recalled by University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust. They were told that a cardiac MRI they had years ago may have been misreported.

What’s most troubling is that this isn’t an isolated case. It’s part of a much wider issue that’s only now coming to light. And yet, we didn’t hear about it from the Trust. We heard about it from a patient who was scared and confused.

We’re now looking into what this misreporting might have meant for their care, and how things could have been different if the scan had been interpreted correctly at the time.

This wasn’t a one off error. A large number of scans were reviewed, and many were found to have been misinterpreted, some with serious consequences. In fact, two patients were flagged as having scans with the most severe level of error, and over 100 others had issues that could have significantly affected their health.

Even more heartbreaking, some of the patients affected have since died. Their families may deserve transparency as to whether a misreported scan played a role in what happened.

Our client is now left wondering: What if the scan had been reported properly? Would my treatment have been different? Would I be in better health today?

These are not easy questions. But they are fair ones. And they deserve answers.

Summary of the Internal Review

Concerns about the accuracy of cardiac MRI reporting were first raised by the cardiology team in 2020. A small audit revealed an error rate of 14–15%, nearly triple the Trust’s acceptable limit. This triggered a full review of 1,332 scans reported by one consultant between 2013 and 2020.

An external company was brought in to assess the scans using a five-point scale. Of the 1,226 scans reviewed:

• 465 were flagged for further scrutiny
• 2 were found to have the most serious level of error (life-threatening or high-risk)
• 102 had significant issues that could have affected health outcomes
• 361 had debatable but potentially important discrepancies

Tragically, 176 patients have died since their original scans. 101 of those had misreported MRIs and are now part of a mortality review.

For full details about the internal review and the findings, please follow this link.

Why Misreported Cardiac MRIs Matter

Cardiac MRI scans help doctors spot serious heart problems early, things like inflammation, high blood pressure in the lungs, heart muscle disease, or structural defects. When these scans are read correctly, they can lead to life-saving treatment.

But when they’re misread, the consequences can be serious:

• Delays in diagnosis, meaning conditions get worse before they’re caught
• Missed treatment opportunities, especially for conditions that need early action
• Increased risk of complications, like heart failure, stroke, or even sudden death
• Emotional distress, as patients may be wrongly reassured or left without answers

In short, getting these scans right matters a lot.