Portsmouth cancer patient told he was ‘deceased’ by doctor’s surgery

• ITV News Meridian's Sally Simmonds spoke to John and his wife Susan about the ordeal.

A man from Hampshire who was told he was dead says the effect has been devastating to his mental health.John Ashcroft, who is 74 and from Portsmouth is undergoing treatment for prostate cancer.

He received a phonecall from his Doctor's surgery saying their system showed him as "deceased."

This meant all his medical records and appointments had vanished and he has been unable to reorder his medication. Two weeks on and with the help of his wife Susan, John is now officially alive again at his GP practice.

The couple still don't know how the blunder happened or whether he has flagged up as deceased in any other organisations.

• Mr Ashcroft told ITV News Meridian, being told he was dead was "unnerving."

John Ashcroft said: "The phone rang, the person on the other end said it's been reported you're deceased, but quite obviously you're not

"It was terribly unnerving, it would be for anybody wouldn't it, to be told they're dead"

John's wife, Susan Ashcroft added: "You can hear someone saying your husband's deceased, but you're sitting there watching him breathing.

"I think what upset me more than anything was how it was affecting John, He's in remission from cancer, so he has an appointment every 12 weeks and that appointment was cancelled."

An NHS spokesperson said: “We are aware of an issue involving a civil death registration being incorrectly recorded against a patient’s medical record.

"This was removed within three hours of it being reported to us and the patient was re-registered by their GP.

"We send our apologies to the patient involved and would encourage him to contact us directly so we can explain further.”

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