London and South East law firm Penningtons Solicitors LLP has secured substantial damages from Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust and Winchester & Eastleigh NHS Trust for the civil partner of a 42 year old woman, Tina Lane, from Shaftesbury in Dorset, who died following a series of delays in both the diagnosis and treatment of her ovarian cancer. The National Health Litigation Authority has accepted that the woman 'would have had a high prospect of being cured of her disease' if she had been treated with appropriate care.
Miss Lane initially went to her GP on 15 December 2005 complaining of low abdominal pain; she was 39 years of age. She was referred to the surgical team at Salisbury District Hospital where she was diagnosed with a urinary tract infection and discharged on antibiotics.
Three months later, after she experienced further pain, Miss Lane visited her GP again. An ultrasound scan was undertaken and showed a large cystic mass on the right ovary. A consultant subsequently performed an exploratory operation in June 2006 to diagnose her condition more accurately but was uncertain about the management of the case, as he thought she had no symptoms from her cyst. Two days later, on 15 June 2006, the consultant wrote to Miss Lane, informing her it would be reasonable to do nothing for the time being.
On 27 June, the consultant wrote to her again, saying that he had spoken to a consultant at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester, who suggested that it would be safer to deal with the cyst now rather than to leave things. This consultant had recommended that she should undergo a laparoscopy, have the cyst opened, washed out and the lining removed and sent to the pathologist for examination.
On 7 July, Miss Lane confirmed that she wished to go ahead with the proposed operation in Winchester. An appointment was given to Miss Lane for 9 November 2006. She was seen in the consultant's clinic and arrangements were made for her to come in on 5 March 2007 for a laparoscopic operation.
On 2 January 2007, Miss Lane visited her GP again because her abdominal pain was worsening. On examination, there was a palpable hard mass, arising from the pelvis, which Miss Lane had been unable to feel before. Consequently, the GP faxed a letter to the consultant, asking him to bring her appointment forward. The consultant wrote back on the same day, informing the GP that he would like to be able to bring her in for surgery at an earlier date, but his lists were completely full. Unless the pain was unmanageable or if there was some other urgent requirement, he feared that he was not in a position to change the date of her proposed surgery.
On 8 February 2007, Miss Lane was seen by her GP, who thought that the cyst had grown and arranged for an ultrasound scan which was performed on 16 February. The scan showed that the cyst had increased significantly in size. On 20 February, Miss Lane's GP faxed a copy of the ultrasound scan to the consultant. Apparently this was filed on the records without being shown to the consultant.
On 22 February, Miss Lane was admitted to Salisbury District Hospital with the sudden onset of severe abdominal pain. She was diagnosed with a ruptured cyst and an urgent laparoscopy was arranged. The laparoscopy showed a large ovarian cyst in the abdomen that was thought to have twisted. The cyst was removed and an examination showed that it was malignant. Miss Lane was referred to a specialist oncology unit for treatment. She underwent major surgery and five courses of chemotherapy. Sadly, the cancer spread and Miss Lane's condition deteriorated. She died, at home, on 7 February 2009.
Justine Spencer of Penningtons Solicitors LLP's clinical negligence group, led the claim on behalf of Elizabeth Austin, Miss Lane's civil partner. Commenting on the case, she said: "While we are pleased with the outcome, no award can compensate for the loss of Tina Lane's life or the fact that several windows of opportunity to treat her were missed.
"Had surgery been undertaken to remove the whole tumour when Tina attended Salisbury District Hospital in June 2006, the ovarian cancer would have been removed intact and the prognosis would have been excellent. The five year probability of survival for what would have been a small tumour would have been better than 89.6%. Even if a decision was made to defer surgery, the minimum standard of care should have been to repeat the ultrasound scan and clinical examination at intervals of between three and six months.
"Had an ultrasound scan been performed when Miss Lane attended the Winchester clinic in November 2006, it would have been apparent that the cyst was growing quite quickly and required removal in the very near future. If surgery had been performed then, Miss Lane's chances of survival would again have been extremely high. Finally, if the Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester had taken appropriate steps in January 2007, following the GP's request to bring Miss Lane's appointment forward, on the balance of probabilities, the spread of the tumour that subsequently appeared in her lymph nodes could have been prevented and her chances of survival would have remained extremely high."