Cancer misdiagnosis prompts woman to consider clinical negligence action

Posted 22/09/2010

A woman who was told she had gallstones when she actually had a serious form of cancer has said she is considering lodging a claim for clinical negligence compensation.

Catherine Watkins, 55, had been suffering from persistent pains in her abdomen for some time, but began to feel seriously unwell in December 2009, the Echo reports.

She was admitted to Southend Hospital, but was diagnosed with gallstones and sent home.

Despite her returning on a number of different occasions afterwards, Ms Watkins was not offered a CT scan for several months.

When she eventually convinced medics she needed one, she was told she had terminal pancreatic cancer.

To make matters worse, after she demanded a meeting with hospital bosses, she was told she may have to wait three weeks.

“I’m absolutely disgusted … To invite me to a meeting and then make me wait so long when I have so little time left is awful,” Ms Watkins remarked.

She is now considering suing for clinical negligence compensation.

According to recent research from Imperial College London, one in six NHS patients is at risk of being misdiagnosed.