A REGIONAl health trust has admitted its slow response contributed to a man's death from cancer.

A coroner had previously ruled William Hare, who died aged 71 in January 2024 from metastatic urothelial cancer, had not received treatment quickly enough for his condition.

By the time the cancer had been spotted, it was too late, and his death was "contributed to by neglect" in particular "delays to diagnosis and treatment resulting in the cancer spreading to such an extent any treatment that could have been given became futile" a report has said.

Mr Hare attended Basildon Hospital in November 2022 with pain in his abdomen and left loin.

Following CT scans, it was suspected that he had cancer in the middle left ureter.

Medics then determined that an MRI and CT be carried out.

The MRI showed no obvious urothelial lesions, so if concerns remained, a ureteroscopy was recommended.

Following a consultation with Bill on January 4, 2023, a ureteroscopy was requested.

This was undertaken on February 16. The biopsy results were available on March 7, but they were inconclusive.

His care team considered the next steps on March 21 and advised that imaging and biopsy be repeated with a view to a nephroureterectomy – a surgical procedure to remove the kidney, ureter, and a small portion of the bladder where the ureter and bladder meet.

A telephone consultation took place with Mr Hare on March 27, and he was referred to a consultant urological surgeon. Mr Hare was not seen until May 23, two months later.

The consultant adopted the plan set by the cancer team, although he felt that Mr Hare would ultimately require surgical intervention.

A CT scan was repeated on June 5, but his team did not review Mr Hare's case and ongoing plan until August 29.

No one giving evidence at his inquest could explain that delay.

Mr Hare attended a pre‐assessment clinic on September 4. However, due to an elevated glucose level, he was deemed unfit for surgery, and instructions were given that he was to be seen in the diabetic clinic and re‐referred when his levels normalised.

Mr Hare was seen at Basildon Hospital again on October 3 with low sodium and hyperglycaemia due to poorly controlled diabetes.

His left kidney showed very poor function. There was no evidence of bone metastasis.

He was discharged on October 25.

However, he attended hospital again on November 17 with low sodium levels and sepsis.

Further scans and investigations were undertaken, but no positive action was taken to progress Bill's diagnosis or treatment plan.

By the time an MRI was undertaken on December 20, there was evidence of cancer spreading.

During this admission, the renal team was due to move Mr Hare to Southend Hospital for specialist treatment; however, due to a combination of a lack of beds, ward closures, junior doctor strikes, a full ITU, and issues with transport, he remained in Basildon until January 3, 2024. 

By this time, his cancer had metastasised to his bladder and muscle.

A further CT scan, the results of which only became available on January 15, revealed that it had also spread to his lungs.

At this point, treatment had become futile.

He was placed on an end‐of‐life care plan and moved to a hospice, where he passed away on January 23.

The coroner has set out concerns in a Prevention of Future Deaths Report over several delays spanning more than a year.

A statement from Christine Blanshard, Chief Medical Officer for Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, said: "We send our heartfelt condolences to William's family at this very difficult time. We reviewed William's case and found that diagnosis was too slow and follow-up was too conservative.

"We have listened to the concerns of the coroner, and since William's death, we have updated our diagnostic procedures and ensured that cancers whose origin is uncertain are discussed by specialist multidisciplinary teams and escalate faster."