HbA1c incident recovery information and claim deadline

Dear Colleagues,

This is a further update on the HbA1c recovery incident following previous correspondence.  I contacted you in April 2026 to convey that it has been agreed that the harm review will be funded for general practice.  To support practices in completing this harm review, we intend to reimburse £50 per patient; the ICB will pay this to you once the Trust receives your completed harm review template. 

The aim was for practices to complete this work by October 2026; however, we are extending the deadline for a further 2 weeks to Sunday 15th November 2026 to ensure that all responses have been captured.

We have been advised that GP colleagues are best placed to review their patient lists, given their access to the full clinical record.  Practices may consider doing this work at practice level, PCN level or borough/federation as per individual preference.   Attached is the spreadsheet we would like you to complete for your practice’s harm review. You have been sent, and are in receipt of, a list of your affected patients—specifically, patients with a new diagnosis of diabetes that was likely based on HbA1c results from the period when results were positively biased (Jan 2024 – March 2024 and August 2024 – Jan 2025).

We would like you to complete the spreadsheet and return it to this email address: bhrut.hba1c-gpqueries@nhs.net

An incident group at BHRUT are collating and reviewing the submitted data to assess patient-level information and determine the appropriate next steps. Should you come across a patient who has been subjected to potential harm and needs urgent review by secondary care, please contact endocrine advice and guidance.

Please note that this incident is now ending, and this is the final call for submissions.

Harm Review

The harm review will focus on patients with a new diagnosis of diabetes in the affected period who have:

·                      No acceptable repeat HbA1c at the time of data capture

·                      The acceptable repeat HbA1c is in the normal range (<42 mmol/mol)

·                      The acceptable repeat HbA1c is in the range 42–48 mmol/mol

Whilst some patients have had a repeat HbA1c that was not affected by bias, there are some patients who have had not had a repeat HbA1c after all lab errors have been corrected, this is indicated in the spreadsheet.  The data provided is from the beginning December. Please check the patient’s record to see whether the patient has had a repeat HbA1c since the data capture.

The spreadsheet will indicate which patients have had an acceptable HbA1c which can be used for the harm review and which patients may require a repeat HbA1c in order for the harm review to take place. Attached to this email is:

·                      Spreadsheet for the harm review

·                      Patient information letter with information about the HbA1c issue (Issue with BHRUT Test for diabetes)

·                      Patient information letter which may be issued to patients who no longer have diabetes

·                      Letter to patients who have not responded to previous contact attempts

Complaints process

Patient-related complaints can be directed to our Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) as per the normal process. The contact details are shared below and will be included in the patient information leaflet on our website: https://www.bhrhospitals.nhs.uk/askpals

Yours sincerely,

Professor Andrew Deaner

Chief Medical Officer