14.02.19
Family demand wider inquiry into NHS nurse’s death after cervical cancer missed by Bristol trust
The bereaved family of a nurse has called for a full independent inquiry into her care after it took six attempts for her cancer to be diagnosed.
Julie O’Connor died on 4 February at Southmead Hospital in Bristol, but days before her death she posted an emotional video from her hospital bed saying “it's disgusting I have been suffering the way I have and I continue to suffer.”
North Bristol NHS Trust said an independent review into her care will begin this month, but her family are fighting for a wider inquiry into her case, stating it was her dying wish for “nobody else to suffer as she had.”
O’Connor had a cervical smear test in September 2014 that came back as negative and doctors believed she was suffering from another condition known as cervical ectropion.
The former NHS nurse wasn’t diagnosed with cervical cancer until three years later by a private consultant.
Speaking before her death, O’Connor said it took six attempts for the cancer to be diagnosed and she was “horrified” when a private examination found a 4.5cm tumour.
She said: “Within 30 seconds of being examined he told me it was cervical cancer.
“If it had been caught at the beginning, it would have been a simple procedure, at most probably a hysterectomy and it would have all been fine.”
The family sued the Bristol trust which admitted liability and offered damages. O’Connor’s husband Kevin said: “one of the last things she said to me was 'don't let anybody else go through this pain and suffering’.”
“If North Bristol had enacted the actions and recommendations from previous reviews, Julie would still be alive. That, for me, was the fundamental failure.”
He has asked coroners if they would consider an inquiry into not just Julie’s care but back to 2014 “to be sure this doesn't have to happen to anyone else, and if there are other victims.”
In a statement, North Bristol NHS Trust’s medical director Chris Burton said his thoughts were with the family and that a review was forthcoming.
“We are committed to understanding the full circumstances of the care we provided so we can improve our services for the future, and we will be publicly open with the overall findings of the independent investigation we have commissioned.”
Kevin O’Connor said he disappointed by the scope and scale of the hospital’s investigation, and urged the trust to “please consider the bigger picture,” in a bid to look for any other potential errors.