‘I had trust in the NHS, so whenever they told us things like scans would happen, we believed them. But it was just delay after delay… we may have had more time together’
A grieving son has described how his mother faced “delay after delay” at a hospital that has slipped well below and waitlist deadlines and diagnostic targets for patients.
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman has ordered the Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust (MSE) to issue an apology to the family of the 67-year-old woman, known only as Mrs S, in the wake of failings in their care, treatment, and management of her cancer diagnosis.
The retired history teacher and mother-of-two, from Chelmsford in Essex, died in 2023 after health system failings saw her wait longer for her diagnosis and longer again for treatment. By the time the MSE got around to her, she was too ill to receive treatment. Mrs S – described as heavily involved in her local community by volunteering, singing in choirs and playing tennis – first visited her GP with uncomfortable abdominal bloating in January 2023 and was referred to the MSE.
On February 16, she received a CT scan, a biopsy on March 15, and received a diagnosis of ovarian cancer on March 21. She was told that while she would not survive the cancer, but chemotherapy may extend her life. Treatment was eventually scheduled to begin a month later. The Ombudsman said that if the MSE trust had been meeting waiting time standards, her treatment should have commenced on April 3. If she had, Mrs S would have been well enough to receive chemotherapy.
Her diagnosis took 49 days. Her treatment did not start for another 81 days after her referral. The timeframes Mrs S suffered through were found to be well below standards set by NHS England at the time.
As a cancer patient, she should have been diagnosed within 28 days of referral, according to the Ombudsman. Treatment then should have begun within 62 days. She was late on both counts. Mrs S waited 75% longer than she should have for her diagnosis and 31% longer for treatment, which, by then, came too late.
The Ombudsman said that after Mrs S’s son complained about his mother’s treatment, the hospital trust said that it had improved its performance on cancer wait list times, but performance against its treatment targets had declined. In February 2023, some 47% of cancer patients were treated within 62 days and figures suggested that by July 2025, this figure had dropped to 46%. The equivalent figure for October 2025 – the latest data available – was 47%.
The health ombudsman concluded that failings by the MSE trust caused distress to Mrs S and her family, with Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Paula Sussex recommending review into waiting times and with other improvements.
Her son revealed he still has “nightmares” about his mother being unsafely discharged from hospital without any support just days before she died.
Mrs S’s son, a 31-year-old chartered surveyor, said: “I had trust in the NHS, so whenever they told us things like scans would happen, we believed them. But it was just delay after delay.
“My mother and I kept asking questions and for updates but never got anywhere and the whole situation was just confusing and frustrating. After we finally had the diagnosis, we were almost relieved, and we expected treatment to start straight away. But again, it took too long to confirm the chemotherapy date.”
He added: “If she had received the care she should have had, then her quality of life would have improved, and we may have had more time together.”
Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Paula Sussex said: “In this case, we recommended that the trust should investigate its performance against national targets and make a robust plan for how it will improve.
“The trust has committed to carrying out this work and will be rolling out new technology to help it allocate resources more efficiently and increase capacity for cancer appointments. While this will sadly not change what happened in this case, it highlights how one complaint can make a difference.
She added: “Because of this investigation, other patients and families should experience wait times that are in line with national guidance.”
Chief executive of MSE NHS Foundation Trust Dawn Scrafield, said: “We know that waiting for cancer diagnosis and treatment is a worrying time, and we offer sincere apologies to Mrs S’s family for the delay in her treatment.
“Demand has increased, and we are reviewing how we manage the need for more diagnostic services. We have begun an integrated improvement plan, working with our health and care system partners to speed up treatment times and get patients to the right place at the right time.”
Ms Scrafield added: “Cancer care is one of our key priorities, and we can already see our wait times reducing in some cancers as we deliver extra clinics and theatre scheduling.”
