Mistake Attributed to High Testing Demand, With Corrections Sent the Following Morning
A significant error occurred at St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney on Christmas Day, when a laboratory mistakenly sent out negative Covid test results to 400 people, despite them actually testing positive. The incorrect results were distributed via text message in the evening of December 25 and were only corrected the following morning.
The mix-up is believed to have stemmed from increased pressure to process a large volume of tests during the holiday period. In response to the mistake, an emergency response team has been assembled to investigate the incident, and the medical director of the laboratory has confirmed that steps are being taken to prevent such errors in the future.
