A hospital trust has apologised to a Bradford woman after she wrongfully received treatment for blood test results which belonged to another patient.

Lynn Wood, from Allerton, described feeling traumatised by her ordeal, which began when she went into hospital for an operation on her foot. 

The 63-year-old was set to return home and was just about to leave the hospital when she received an urgent message that her bloods were abnormal.

Mrs Wood was taken back up to the ward, where medics were waiting to put her on a saline drip amid concerns she was either dehydrated or had a kidney injury.

She added that she woke up at 1.30am with a swollen arm and a rash, which she claimed was a result of phlebitis – when a vein becomes inflamed.

Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (BTHFT) launched an urgent investigation into Mrs Wood’s ordeal.

The results of the investigation were sent via a letter to Mrs Wood earlier this month.

The final report confirmed Mrs Wood’s details were wrongly printed onto the label of another patient’s sample.

The letter to Mrs Wood stated: “Staff looked into this further and it transpired that there were two sets of blood results recorded for you on the system.

“The process for obtaining a blood sample for testing is that a request is made on the patient's electronic patient record and a requisition and label are then printed off for that patient.”

The letter added: “The staff nurse and the healthcare assistant did not perform the appropriate checks to identify and take consent from the other patient prior to obtaining the blood sample.

“As a result, the other patient's blood sample was processed using your patient details which meant that you subsequently received the incorrect blood test results and led to you being asked to return to the ward for further treatment.

“Unfortunately, whilst undergoing the further treatment (IV fluids) the cannula developed complications and you suffered pain and swelling to your arm which caused you some further distress.”

Speaking about the response, Mrs Wood said: “It was only because I knew I had one lot of bloods that the alarm bells rang. 

“I’m having nightmares about it. It’s knocked my confidence in the trust. It shouldn’t be happening. 

“How many times they ask you your name, your date of birth, you go through it so many times.”

In a statement issued to the Telegraph & Argus, BTHFT chief nurse Karen Dawber, said: “I would once again like to offer our sincere apologies to Ms Wood for the distress and inconvenience caused to her.

“We have investigated this incident thoroughly and concluded that no harm was caused to Ms Wood. We have also shared the findings with her.

“Patient safety is an absolute priority for the Trust and we have learned lessons from this incident to prevent it happening again.”