Negotiations lead to settlement of claim against East Kent Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust for delay in diagnosis of cervical cancer

Posted: 30/08/2023

The specialist cancer claims team at Penningtons Manches Cooper has settled a claim against East Kent Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust for a client whose cervical cancer diagnosis was negligently delayed by six months. 

The claimant attended the defendant’s hospital in November 2020 with heavy vaginal bleeding including the passing of clots about the size of her fist and was referred to the on-call gynaecology team. She was discharged with tranexamic acid tablets and advised that her GP would make a two-week urgent referral for an ultrasound scan. 

She returned to the hospital nine days later for her scan but heard nothing more afterwards. She therefore assumed that it was normal and no further action was needed although in fact it showed abnormal results potentially indicative of cervical cancer. A gynaecological examination was undertaken but it did not include a pelvic examination which should have been performed to rule out cervical cancer. Despite the ultrasound scan showing abnormal results, no further action was taken by the hospital.

The claimant attended her GP again in February 2021, reporting intermittent bleeding. Following a referral from the GP, she was diagnosed with stage 4b cervical cancer in May 2021. She was informed at the time of her diagnosis that this had been delayed by six months because of the failure to act upon the abnormalities shown on the ultrasound, but it was not clear at that stage whether the delay had impacted her long-term prognosis.

Despite being listed for palliative chemotherapy following her diagnosis, the claimant has had an excellent response to her treatment, and following a hysterectomy, she is now showing no residual signs of cancer.

Penningtons Manches Cooper investigated the claim by obtaining patient medical records and imaging as well as expert input from an oncologist. It was the claimant’s case that the ultrasound in November 2020, which showed abnormal results, should have prompted the defendant to recommend a hysterectomy and make an immediate referral to the oncology team to take over her care. This failure led to her diagnosis being delayed.

Without the delay in diagnosis, the claimant would have avoided the considerable ongoing problems of bleeding and discomfort that she suffered during that six-month period, as she would have had earlier treatment. In addition, she would not have faced the distressing hospital admission due to heavy bleeding in June 2021. She would have also avoided the anxiety of not knowing how the delay in diagnosis has impacted her treatment options and chance of cure. She continues to suffer with understandable anxiety as to whether her cancer is more likely to return in the future.

Having investigated the claim and obtained supportive expert evidence, Penningtons Manches Cooper presented a claim to East Kent Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Early and full admissions were made and the claim was settled through negotiations and without the need to issue court proceedings.

Philippa Luscombe, partner in the clinical negligence team at Penningtons Manches Cooper, who specialises in cancer claims, comments: “We are so pleased that our client has had such an excellent response to her treatment. Nonetheless she has still been through a very difficult period, which was made unnecessarily worse by the defendant’s failures. As a team, we unfortunately deal with claims relating to delayed diagnosis of cancer on a regular basis, and many of these are due to hospital failures to follow up referrals or properly complete paperwork. That is exactly what happened here with key information being available from the imaging but not acted upon. On this occasion, in terms of her long-term prognosis, our client was fortunate. However her claim illustrates the potential damage that hospitals can cause by not following up urgent referrals or efficiently dealing with their administrative tasks.”

Penningtons Manches Cooper has a specialist team dealing with clinical negligence claims involving delayed diagnosis or misdiagnosis of cancer. We offer an initial free consultation on a no obligation basis to individuals who have concerns about their care and outcome. Please contact the team on 0800 328 9545, email clinnegspecialist@penningtonslaw.com or complete our online assessment form.

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