Multiple cases of cancer were missed at Wexford General Hospital according to a new review published.
Reported by the Irish Times, one patient was told to go home and drink a Guinness when he presented symptoms of the disease. The patient’s daughter, Dee Fitzpatrick told the Time that her 72-year-old father Pat was given the advice in February 2015. A month later his colon cancer was discovered. The cancer has since spread to vital organs.
The elderly man was one of the first patients to avail of the offer for a free colonoscopy under the BowelScreen programme. According to the report, the test was performed by a “Doctor Y.” He is one of thirteen patients who had the test and failed to receive an accurate diagnosis.
The 72-year-old has since been treated in Dublin and has undergone a partial lung removal, two months in intensive care, eight rounds of chemotherapy, three cardiac arrests and four episodes of pneumonia.
“While the journey for a family through the diagnosis and treatment of cancer is painful and stressful, the added layer of wondering if the bowel cancer could have been detected earlier can be unbearable at times,” said daughter Dee.
