Woman, 62, is left baffled as she turns up to a hospital scan only to be told she's already dead

A baffled woman turned up to a hospital scan only to be told by staff that she'd already died. 

Susan Johnson from Scarborough was left 'shaking by a leaf' after staff at the Bridlington Hospital in Yorkshire told her their records showed she'd been dead for four months. 

Susan, 62, a retired housekeeper, was luckily still able to have her scan but her husband Bob needed to bring her a strong coffee to help calm her nerves. 

The mother-of-two told BBC News: 'I gave them my letter and their first words were, "ooh you're dead".

'I said, "pardon?". I was in shock.

Susan Johnson (pictured) from Scarborough was left 'shaking by a leaf' after staff at the Bridlington Hospital in Yorkshire told her their records showed she'd been dead for four months

'Then they put something on the computer so I could have the scan and then they just said, "bye" and that's it.'

It is unclear how the mistake happened as when Susan contacted her GP, they told her that the mistake had been fixed. 

However, when she contacted the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), the call handler told her she was still marked as already dead on the system. 

'On the computer you're dead,' she was told. Susan then informed her she couldn't be dead as she was on the phone and talking. 

The error meant that Susan's carer's allowance for looking after her disabled husband Bob briefly stopped, though this has now been fixed.  

She said she shut down completely after the news and said there was nobody to talk to about the mistake. 

Even now, she is not sure how the mistake happened in the first place but she is determined to find out how it happened. 

Scarborough Medical Group told the BBC they'd received an electronic instruction about the 'death' from Primary Care Support England (PCSE). 

Susan's allowance for looking after her husband Bob (pictured together) briefly stopped due to the mistake

Susan had her scan at the Bridlington Hospital in Yorkshire (pictured, file image)

But PCSE said marking patients as dead is the responsibility of GPs, while NHS England also said they do not notify the DWP of a death. 

It remains unclear how Susan was removed from her GP's records - and who informed the DWP. 

Susan is concentrating on her hobbies of gardening and knitting as she recovers from the shock. 

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 24 hours of it being reported to us in March 2023 and the patient was re-registered by their GP. 

'We would encourage the patient to contact us directly so we can explain further.' 

FEMAIL has also reached out to the DWP for comment.  

• Scarborough woman wants answers after being told she is dead - BBC News