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Richard Fry lost his battle with bowel cancer in 2003. Now Salford Royal NHS Trust have admitted they failed to diagnose his condition
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Doctors told him the pain was ‘all in his head’ - weeks later Richard Fry died of cancer...
Lucy McGuire17/ 4/2008
SALFORD Royal NHS Trust have admitted a man, who died weeks after being told excruciating abdominal pains were ‘all in his head’, would have lived longer had they correctly diagnosed the cancer which killed him.
Sixty-eight-year-old Richard Fry lost his battle with bowel cancer on March 18, 2003, leaving behind three grandchildren, his 27-year-old son Anthony, 47-year-old daughter Lesley Yates and wife Joyce Fry.
Now Joyce has finally won a three-year compensation battle after the hospital’s Trust finally diagnosed her husband’s condition only six weeks before he passed away, despite Richard suffering serious symptoms as far back as 2002.
Joyce, of Maple Road, Swinton, received an undisclosed sum in an out of court settlement.
She says hospital staff told her husband his excruciating abdominal pains were imagined.
Joyce, 71, said: "My husband started feeling ill early in 2001, and the doctor kept saying ‘I’m telling you, it’s in his head’.
"He was sent to a pain relief clinic for his stomach cramps, and even there they said ‘stop thinking about the pain’."
After a number of tests, Richard was still told there was nothing medically wrong with him.
And despite his deterioration over Christmas 2002, it wasn’t until January 2003 that he was finally submitted for an emergency operation.
His daughter Lesley said doctors then said ‘in no way was that pain in your father’s head’, and he was diagnosed with secondary bowel cancer.
She said: "My dad was in considerable pain but kept on saying ‘I’m going to fight this’.
"But when he realised he might not survive, he said ‘you must pursue this for me’."
The mother and daughter, who had already started legal procedures for Richard’s lack of treatment, only managed to get legal support nearly three years later, just days before the case was considered too old.
Joyce said: "Richard was such a hard worker, but he was made to feel like a nuisance by the Trust.
"I am just happy we have finally received an official apology from them.
"And I hope that by telling people what happened to my husband, the hospital won’t let it happen again."
Elaine Inglesby, executive nurse at Salford Royal Hospital, said: "We carried out full and detailed investigations into the care received by Mr Fry.
"We again wish to offer our sincere apologies to Mrs Fry for the delay in diagnosis and treatment, which would have alleviated some of Mr Fry’s symptoms and increased his life expectancy, although sadly his life could not have been saved.
"We have looked very closely at the events to see that lessons were learned and we can assure patients that we have done everything we can to prevent any similar tragedies happening again."
Lawyer Stephanie Forman of Irwin Mitchell Manchester, who was representing the family, commented: "Although Richard's cancer was not curable, a correct diagnosis early on would have increased his life expectancy and enabled the quality of his life to be improved in the weeks before his death as there would have been the opportunity to ensure that he received appropriate pain relief. His family had to endure the trauma of seeing their loved one in pain and distress."
She continued: "We are pleased that the Trust has apologised to Mrs Fry for its negligence and has said that it is taking action to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again. My client is very keen that other people do not have to go through the distress that she and her family experienced ."
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Got an opinion you want to share?Should less emphasis be placed on the results of tests and more emphasis on general education for children?
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20/04/2008 at 00:28