Lancashire woman died from brain tumour after surgery delay

Alan Ashford said his wife May "suffered horribly from the effects of the tumour"

A woman died from an operable brain tumour after doctors failed to properly monitor her scan results, a health watchdog has found.

May Ashford, who lived near Blackpool, was diagnosed with the tumour in 2010 at the Royal Preston Hospital.

But the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) found she was not offered surgery until it was too late - despite further scans.

Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has apologised.

Her husband Alan said: "It was obvious to the family and myself when reading the scan reports that the monitoring of her tumour was highly suspect.

"The tumour should have been removed before it came into contact with the carotid artery.

"The fact that it was not is a complete mystery to us.

"We have no idea why the consultant concerned acted in the way that they did, and as we have never been offered an explanation, we have no closure."

Mrs Ashford was diagnosed after experiencing headaches and seizures.

Regular MRI scans showed the tumour was growing and was pushing her brain to one side, the PHSO said.

She was told that it was not growing and was not offered surgery to remove it until May 2015, the PHSO said.

The watchdog's investigation found Mrs Ashford was not offered surgery until it was too late as medical staff failed to monitor the scan results properly and did not report significant findings.

May Ashford died from a stroke in 2015 at the age of 71

Independent medical specialists told the Ombudsman that Mrs Ashford should have been offered surgery three years earlier.

Mrs Ashford died from a stroke in 2015 after her surgery at the age of 71.

Ombudsman Rob Behrens said the case emphasised the need for urgent improvements to imaging practices in the NHS.

"This tragic case highlights why we have been calling for imaging improvements to be treated as an urgent issue of patient safety," he said.

"Our casework shows that sadly, Mrs Ashford is not the only person who lost her life because of mistakes related to scans and X-rays."

Mr Ashford brought a complaint to the Ombudsman as he had concerns about his wife's care.

He said: "Thanks to the Ombudsman's meticulous report, new rules regarding the monitoring of patients have been implemented by the hospital to ensure that this cannot happen again to anyone else."

A Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust spokeswoman said: "As a trust we acknowledge the findings of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman report relating to the care of Mrs Ashford and have offered our unreserved apologies to Mr Ashford.

"A detailed action plan was provided to Mr Ashford in November 2022 describing the measures that have taken place following the PHSO investigation to ensure that other patients and their families do not have a similar experience."