A cancer patient has had the wrong side of his bowel removed at Northern Beaches Hospital (NBH) after a private-contracted laboratory botched his pathology results.

The male patient was undergoing colorectal surgery at the public-private hospital last week when surgeons took out the wrong section of his colon.

A cancer patient has had the wrong side of his bowel removed at Northern Beaches Hospital.

The Herald understands the serious mistake was the result of an error in the patient’s pathology report supplied by NBH’s external pathology provider, Australian Clinical Labs.

The patient returned to NBH to undergo an endocsopy on Friday and collective surgery next week. It is not known what effects the error could have on his long-term health.