Cancer sufferer receives massive payout from hospital due to THIS admin blunder
A woman who had her breast cancer treatment delayed by a YEAR due to a hospital blunder has received an £8,000 payout after suing the NHS.
Leigh Kingdon, 41, says she was left feeling suicidal after her scan results were wrongly filed as requiring “no further action” while she had the killer disease.
She had been for an an MRI scan at Kettering General Hospital in March 2018 because she was considered high risk having had cancer twice previously.
It picked up a lump on her right breast and said she should be called back for further assessment – but a junior member of staff incorrectly closed the case on a database.
The hospital claimed it didn’t receive a letter from Leigh’s oncologist following up the scan meaning the tumour was not detected until a year later.
A mammogram in March 2019 found the tumour on her right breast and lesions on the left, requiring Leigh to undergo a double mastectomy on May 14 that year.
The former carer has now received a settlement after the trauma of the mistake left her feeling suicidal and the hospital has since apologised for the error.
Leigh, of Highnam Ferrers, Northants., said: “I was basically walking around with a ticking time-bomb inside me.
“Because I have a past of cancer they order regular tests once a year. I got no calls afterwards so I assumed it was fine.
“When I turned 40 the next year I started a cancer screening programme and they did scans on my breasts which showed a tumour on the right breast and lesions on the left.
“They called me back to discuss that and then said to me they had looked at the scans from 2018 and it was there back then.
“I was shocked when they told me they could see the cancer in 2018 and I cried my eyes out there and then.
“Two radiographers had reported it was suspicious and it was handed to a junior who filed it as needing no further action.
“It was very distressing. It was something that I could’ve died from. I’ve already had cancer twice.
“At one stage I was thinking about taking my own life.”
Leigh said she fears others may suffer from a similar mistake and has made a complaint to the General Medical Council.
Fortunately the delay in diagnosis did not cause the cancer to spread to the lymph nodes.
She added that she still has physical pain after her treatment and that the money the hospital has paid her is an “insult” to her suffering.
She added: “They told me it didn’t get worse but in some of the reports it said it did grow very slightly to 52mm.
“I have got a genetic condition that creates three types of cancer. I had ovarian cancer when I was four.
“My mother was told I had weeks to live and wouldn’t live to be five years old.
“It’s Bannayan-Riley-Ruvalcaba or Cowden syndrome and the genetic mutation is called PTEN.
“At 18 I had kidney cancer and had the kidney removed. This time I had a double mastectomy and chemotherapy for six months.
“Three weeks after the mastectomy they found a hidden cancer and had to remove my lymph nodes.
“It was hard going. I went into hospital three times due to sepsis from the chemotherapy.
“I recovered quite quickly from the first two cancers, but this time it’s harder. I get a lot of pain in my joints and severe pain in my arms.
“I have received a pay-out from the hospital, but I didn’t start it for the money.
“I don’t trust them now. I go in and they tell me these tests are clear and I just think back to 2018 when they told me I was fine when I wasn’t.
“I sit there thinking ‘have they got it right this time?'”
“You should trust them because they have your life in their hands. But I don’t.
“They told me I am physically fine but they don’t know what I have gone through mentally.
“My little nieces are scared to death when I have an appointment that something is going to happen.
“Every time I went back to the hospital they thought I was going to die
“I don’t sleep at night and I’m seeing a psychologist, which I never thought I’d have to do.
“I used to be a carer but can’t do it anymore because of pains in my arms.
“Since the mastectomy I don’t look in the mirror because I don’t like seeing myself. I don’t like going out and people seeing me.
“It’s just been an absolute nightmare and I just don’t want it to happen to anyone else.”
Kettering General Hospital medical director, Prof Andrew Chilton, said: “We investigated what went wrong in this case in great detail and have looked at ways to strengthen our administration processes so that it cannot happen again.
“We now have additional measures and checks in place and our administrative process is comprehensive and robust.
“We have been open and transparent under our duty of candour processes in keeping Miss Kingdon informed of the progress of our investigation and staff from the unit have met with Miss Kingdon on many occasions to discuss it and to apologise.
“Our investigation into her delay in care was performed with the full knowledge and involvement of the screening commissioners and national screening and quality assurance service.
“We, once again, offer our profound and sincere apologies to Miss Kingdon for the administrative errors which led to the delay in her appropriate follow-up treatment.
“Our investigation has shown this was an unfortunate and isolated incident. We are very sorry for all of the great distress and concern this must have caused for her and her family.
“Once the delay came to light we acted swiftly and appropriately to ensure Miss Kingdon had all of the necessary and appropriate treatment and follow-on care and support.”