GP ‘fobbed off ’ cancer sufferer by telling her it was anorexia
Patient needed emergency surgery as red flags ignored, health inquiry finds
A WOMAN was forced to undergo emergency surgery after GPs failed to spot “red flag” colon cancer symptoms for more than a year, with one suggesting she had anorexia.
Charlie Puplett, 45, had raised concerns with her surgery in Yeovil, Somerset, in May 2019 about unexplained weight loss, lack of appetite, change in bowel habits, a tender abdomen and stomach pain and bloating.
However, the GP practice did not carry out any tests for colon cancer, an investigation by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) has found.
Ms Puplett claimed she was repeatedly “fobbed off ” by doctors, who told her she had anorexia.
The following April, during a Clap for Carers outside her home, she began vomiting blood and faeces.
Paramedics rushed her to Yeovil Hospital where she was diagnosed with colon cancer and underwent an emergency operation to remove two-thirds of her colon and a tumour. She also needed a stoma, an opening on the abdomen that allows waste to be diverted out of the body into a bag.
The PHSO said the symptoms “should have been red flags leading to urgent attention”. Statistics from Cancer Research UK show bowel cancer is the 3rd most common cancer for women, with 19,000 new cases every year. Ms Puplett, a risk management controller, said the ordeal has left her with PTSD.
She said: “I kept going back to the practice and they just fobbed me off. They didn’t listen to me at all. I saw a different doctor each time, one of whom suggested I had anorexia and was in denial.
“It all came to a head one evening when, after standing outside clapping for the NHS workers, I vomited blood and faeces. I was taken to A and E and diagnosed with colon cancer. I was very frightened and just kept saying ‘no, it can’t be’.”
Ms Puplett, whose cancer is now in remission, complained to the PHSO, a public body that investigates complaints about the NHS that cannot be resolved within the organisation involved.
The investigation, which included seeking advice from an independent GP, found that staff at the practice should have suspected cancer and referred her for tests within two weeks.
If Ms Puplett had been referred in time, she would have had a planned keyhole procedure, rather than emergency surgery and a stoma, the investigation found. She also would not have needed surgery a year later to remove the stoma.
The practice was recommended to pay Ms Puplett £2,950 for its failures and put in place an action plan to prevent this from happening in the future. Ms Puplett said: “I’ve got a second chance, but it’s had a huge effect on my life.”
Rob Behrens, of the PHSO, said: “We cannot change what happened but it’s important that when mistakes are made, organisations acknowledge what has happened and commit to learning from these mistakes to prevent it from happening again.”