Belfast Trust offers apology for delay in cancer diagnosis to mum told she had 'heavy periods'

Northern Ireland's biggest health trust has apologised to a Belfast mum with cancer who was first turned away from hospital after being told she had "heavy periods".

Emma McQuitty was turned away multiple times from two Belfast hospitals. She was later given the devastating diagnosis of stage four cancer on July 27.

The Belfast Health Trust has apologised for the unacceptable long delays while she waited for referral and treatment saying it's truly sorry for adding to her distress. 

Emma told UTV that tumours on her cervix, uterus and bladder, were finally discovered when she went to another hospital outside Belfast.

She said: "I have read the statistics of cervical cancer and I know that there is a 15 percent chance that I don't live past the next five years and that's not a nice thing to know.

"Two weeks ago was my last day to be honest with you. I was in hospital having to have two nephrostomy tubes fitted because my kidneys failed.

"When I was in surgery, I thought that was my last day. I thought I wouldn't have seen the next day. 

 "That was very scary thinking that I was going to leave my daughter on this earth alone.

Emma firmly believes the cancer should have been detected earlier. That is because she attended A&Es in Belfast repeatedly because she was in excruciating pain.

Pain that she says doctors put down to "heavy periods", sending her home with strong painkillers.

Emma said: "I believe that if I had done all the tests I am currently doing then, rather than now, I would have been on the treatment sooner. 

"Whereas I'm still waiting to start my treatment and then you're trying to control your anger because you don't want to make yourself more ill.

The Emergency Departments Emma attended were the Mater and the Royal. The long waits only compounding her stress. 

She said: "I begged him for a scan. I told him please help. I know there's something wrong. Scan me and they just kept saying no, we'll put a referral in for you." 

Unfortunately, that referral came too late.

In a statement, the Belfast Trust said: "We would like to wholeheartedly and sincerely apologise to Ms McQuitty for the unacceptably long delays while she waited for referral and treatment.

"The last few months will have been extremely worrying for Ms McQuitty and we are truly sorry for adding to her distress. We are investigating why these delays occurred and we extend our best wishes to her while she receives her treatment."

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