Chesterfield Royal diabetes test gaffe: Patients describe lives turned "upside down" - with one taking medication which made her "ill"

In most cases the patients were told by Chesterfield Royal Hospital tests showed they were prediabetic, put on diabetes prevention programmes and even mis-prescribed medication, before finally being retested when hospital staff realised laboratory testing was inaccurate.

One reader reported making changes to “diet and lifestyle” while another said their life had been turned “upside down” and a patient who was given the erroneous results said she waited four months to find out she was not in fact diabetic while taking medication which made her “ill”.

Chesterfield Royal Hospital has confirmed up to 2,000 patients may have received faulty diabetes tests as similar inaccuracies have been reported in laboratories across the country.

Staff at the hospital say they are working hard to retest all patients who underwent a HbA1c blood test for the condition between June 25 and and December 2, 2024, however it is unclear what percentage of the cohort have been retested.

Apologising for the mistake Kevin Sargen, Medical Director at Chesterfield Royal Hospital said the Trust was “very sorry” that patients received results which were incorrect and had led to “understandable concern and worry”.

He said: “We can fully understand how subsequently being told that a diagnosis was incorrect could be so impactful. Unfortunately, the laboratory machine error occurred despite our laboratory teams following all due process and many factors and national guidance regarding quality control measures. As soon as the issue was raised and confirmed we removed the machine from service.”

Writing on Facebook about the gaffe, Sharron Orton said: “I was one of those people who were misdiagnosed. I had six months thinking that I was prediabetic. I took it seriously and made changes to my diet and lifestyle. I was also attending a nine month long prediabetic course. After a second blood test I was given the news that I was not, and never had been, prediabetic! It was quite a shock I can tell you. How can such a thing happen?!”

Lynne Fantom added: “Yes I was diagnosed then told it was a mistake. The afternoon I was told it turned my life upside down I hadn’t got a clue where I was heading with the food I was supposed to be eating they just gave me a load of leaflets and told basically to read them and get on with it.

"Then I went for the follow up appointment with the nurse after another blood test to be told I probably wasn’t diabetic as there had been faulty readings at the lab I couldn’t believe what I was hearing in this day and age this sort of thing shouldn’t be happening messing about with peoples lives.”

The HbA1c test is a blood test that measures average blood sugar levels over the past two to three months to diagnose and monitor diabetes – following the gaffe the Trust began contacting those potentially affected by post.

Last week a hospital spokesman confirmed that retesting began due to “concerns” around inaccurate HbA1c readings from medical devices – specifically a Menarini analyser, adding that this inaccuracy had occurred in other laboratories around the country.

Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (CRH) says the faulty analyser is no longer in use – it was removed as soon as the problem was identified and since then all diabetes blood tests were now being processed using a different system to ensure accuracy.

Commenting on her experience, Grace Pearson said on Facebook that after receiving a high reading which put her in the prediabetic range she was referred to a Healthier You course. She added: “I was shocked my reading was high because I eat a healthy diet. Then my surgery told me to have another blood test because the results could be false. My new result was well within the healthy range.”

Julie Conlin wrote: “Also one of those misdiagnosed and forced to go on a diabetes prevention programme at the cost to the taxpayer that I did not need, but now it's been retested and always was normal.”

Susan Hayes said: “Yes this happened to me. I was given medication, took four months to tell me I wasn’t diabetic. Told me to stop medication which made me ill.”

A spokesperson for CRH said last week: “We are prioritising the reassessment of clinical advice given to affected patients to ensure their safety and well-being. Under our duty of candour – and as it is the right thing to do – we are contacting and supporting all relevant patients working with their GPs.”

CRH was, they said. prioritising the retesting of patients who had blood tests analysed between June 2024 and 2 December 2024, adding that “recalls have been done on the basis of clinical priority”.