Doctor failed to tell dying patient his cancer had spread

What happened

Mr B was diagnosed with prostate cancer and started on hormone treatment for it. He was unwell and his GP arranged for him to be admitted to hospital. While he was there, Mr B's oncologist arranged for a scan of his back because he was suffering a lot of back pain. The scan showed his prostate cancer had spread into his spine. Mr B was discharged home, but became increasingly unwell. He was not assessed for a care package to help him manage at home, despite his obvious frailty.

The following month, he was admitted to hospital again. He and his family were then told that his cancer had spread. Mr B died the next day.

What we found

The consultant in charge of Mr B's care should have told him his cancer had spread before discharging him from hospital. Also, staff should have given him better pain relief. Had they done so, Mr B's pain might have been better controlled, and he and his family would have known that his cancer had spread, which might have enabled them to get more help at home for him.

Mr B was clearly very frail, so staff should have assessed whether he needed a home care package. Had they done so, it is likely he would have been offered appropriate home support. The fact that they did not do this meant Mr B was left without support when he needed it, which was frustrating and distressing for his daughter to see. She now has to live with the knowledge that more should have been done for her father.

Finally, the Trust's response to Ms H's complaint was inadequate. This made her frustration and distress even worse.

Putting it right

The Trust acknowledged the failings in Mr B's care and the handling of Ms H's complaint.

It paid Ms H £1,250 as compensation for the injustice she suffered, and created an action plan to show it had learnt from the failings identified and made improvements to stop them happening again.