Cancer screening reporting errors led to mum's death

The family of a mother who died from cervical cancer after twice being wrongly told she had negative results have been awarded undisclosed damages.

The misreporting of Louise Gleadell's cervical screening results was admitted by University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust following her death aged 38 in March 2018.

An internal review in 2017 found the samples, taken four years apart, were not good enough to produce reliable results but neither Ms Gleadell - a mum to three boys - nor her relatives were told about the "inadequate" samples while she was still alive.

Her family have now been given an undisclosed payout, with the trust apologising for its mistakes that had "devastating consequences".

Ms Gleadell, from Cossington in Leicestershire, was diagnosed with cervical cancer two years prior to her death. It was, by that stage, too late to have surgery.

Two cervical screening tests, carried out in 2008 and 2012, were misreported to her as negative.

It meant that over a four-year period, she had been given false reassurance about her health when she was developing cervical cancer, and the opportunity to treat pre-cancerous cells passed.

In fact, following the trust's 2017 internal review, both samples were found to have been "inadequate", and it found Ms Gleadell should have been invited back to have the tests repeated.

Ms Gleadell's sisters, Laura and Clare Gleadell, say their grief has been compounded by knowing that their sister's death was avoidable.

Laura, 43, said: "Her death was preventable and that for us is ultimately really hard.

"It would not have developed into cancer had she been recalled in either 2008 or 2012.

"If she had had treatment for cell abnormalities before it even developed into cancer, she would not have died."

Clare stressed knowing the test results were misreported and led to her death is "incredibly hard to live with".

The 40-year-old added: "It is something we probably think about most days, if not every day."

The sisters described Louise as devoted to her three boys, who were aged two, 11 and 13 when they lost their mum.

"Family to her was everything," they said.

Louise began feeling unwell in late 2015, experiencing pain, abnormal bleeding and unexpected weight loss.

By February of the following year, she was so concerned about her health that she paid privately for an ultrasound scan.

The findings led to further investigations, and a biopsy provided by the NHS led to a diagnosis of cervical cancer in March.

Louise underwent chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and brachytherapy - which is internal radiation treatment. Initially, she recovered well but a few months later developed new symptoms.

Towards the end of 2016, doctors told her the disease was terminal.

With donations, Louise travelled abroad for immunotherapy in Germany but ultimately it did not stop the fatal spread of the cancer. She died at the Loros Hospice in Leicester.

The NHS routinely looks back and re-examines test findings after someone is diagnosed with cervical cancer.

After appointing solicitors to examine the case, the family found out that the NHS trust knew of the misreporting of the results in the summer of 2017 - before Louise died.

It is not clear why Louise was not told about this.

Specialist clinical negligence lawyer, Gemma Lewis, of Moosa-Duke Solicitors, uncovered the situation and said the trust should have told Louise.

"I don't think the family should have had to find out from me," she added.

"Someone with a medical background should have explained things, who could answer any follow-up questions.

"It should not take a legal investigation - that they might not have decided to undertake - to uncover the truth."

Richard Mitchell, chief executive at the trust, said: "I am deeply sorry that mistakes were made in how we cared for and communicated with Louise and for the devastating consequences.

"Errors like those in Louise's care are rare, and there have been significant improvements in cervical screening since 2019 when human papillomavirus (HPV) testing was introduced nationally.

"Locally, following an investigation into Louise's care, we have strengthened our processes for sharing the findings of cervical screening quality audits to ensure timely and open communication.

"We understand Louise's family may still have questions and we have reached out to offer a meeting."

Following the trust's apology, Louise's sisters stressed that they would encourage all women to go for a cervical screening.

The NHS says cervical screening checks a sample of cells from your cervix for certain types of human papillomavirus (HPV).

These types of HPV can cause abnormal changes to the cells in your cervix and are called "high risk" types of HPV.

If high risk types of HPV are found during screening, the sample of cells is also checked for abnormal cell changes.

If abnormal cells are found, they can be treated so they do not get a chance to turn into cervical cancer.

Louise's sisters added that they intended to take up the trust's offer of a meeting.

Clare said: "We have unanswered questions - exactly how and why was Louise given false information after her smears and why, after her diagnosis, when the mistakes were highlighted were the family not told?

"The hardest part is seeing Louise's three boys without their mother. It's heartbreaking - the impact of went wrong has been awful."