Kirkby woman’s advanced cancer only discovered after her death
A family's concerns about the treatment of a Kirkby woman whose advanced cancer was revealed in a post-mortem have been heard at an inquest.
Kelly Marie Richards died, aged 45, at home on May 1 last year, said Dr Elizabeth Didcock, assistant coroner of Nottinghamshire.
Her sister Gail found her unresponsive on the floor and her attempts to resuscitate her were continued by ambulance staff, but it was clear there were no signs of life.
A post-mortem found she died of a genito-urinary hemorrhage and stage four uterine endometrial cancer.
Kelly’s death came as a huge shock to her family who were concerned that her condition could have been flagged up earlier.
The inquest heard she had reported heavy bleeding in early 2023, and although a scan showed no signs of disease, a biopsy was recommended.
But Kelly cancelled an appointment at the hospital in October, missed another in December, and told doctors she wanted to be discharged in January 2024.
"We will never know the full reason why she didn’t want the follow up,” said the coroner.
When she presented at A&E with abdominal pain and blood in her urine, twice in February 2024, Kelly was given antibiotics for a suspected urinary tract infection by community health organisation NEMS at PC24.
The coroner accepted Dr Nita Mandhar’s, Medical Director at NEMS, findings that the treatment Kelly received was "safe and appropriate", and agreed it would have been good practice to ask for details of her menstrual history.
Kelly, who had been prescribed medication for anxiety, also rang 999 several times, complaining of nausea and diarrhea in April.
A post-mortem examination subsequently found a large tumour in her uterus, which had grown quickly and aggressively.
Recording a conclusion of death by natural causes on Wednesday, the coroner couldn’t say that issues of care caused or contributed to her death.
The Coroner said: “There are no issues of care, that have on balance, caused or made a more than minimal, negligible or trivial contribution to her death.”
She said the cancer could perhaps have been diagnosed in February 2024, but it was unlikely the outcome would have been different.
Her sister Gail Parry described Kelly as a “lovely, kind-hearted” woman who "would do anything for anyone," and who was “very fit and really happy.”
But she said her sister “suffered with her nerves,” adding: "She raised concerns with her family that she didn't want to raise with the professionals."
The Coroner confirmed in her summing up that the care provided by the King’s Mill Hospital’s gynaecology team was reasonable, with clear reasons provided for the patient and her GP about why further investigations would be necessary.
Whilst NEMS and EMAS identified learning from their handling of this case, there was no learning identified in relation to the care that was provided by King’s Mill Hospital.