Investigation and inquest
On 25 January 2023 I commenced an investigation into the death of Richard David ROE aged 75. The investigation concluded at the end of the inquest on 17 October 2024. The conclusion of the inquest was that:
Mr Roe underwent a pulmonary angiogram at Hinchingbrook Hospital in Huntingdon on 26.09.21. This revealed a pancreatic cyst. A subsequent CT scan on 11.10.21 identified a lesion in excess of 3cm in the tail of the pancreas. The reporting radiologist recommended the scan be reviewed by the Hepato-Biliary MDT but the scan was neither actioned nor viewed. Had it been viewed the scan would have shown the presence of pancreatic cancer. Mr Roe re-presented to Hinchingbrook Hospital in November 2022 and a subsequent CT scan revealed the presence of metastatic pancreatic cancer. Sadly Mr Roe died at his home address, ████████ at 0832hrs on 20.01.23.
Had his pancreatic cancer been identified in October 2021 it is likely that Mr Roe would have undergone surgery and been treated with subsequent chemotherapy. Although the chance of the treatment being curative was low had treatment been provided he would not have died as soon as 20.01.23.
Circumstances of the death
Mr Roe underwent an abdominal CT scan in October 2021. This showed evidence of pancreatic cancer. The CT scan was the subject of a routine referral by the reporting radiologist due to the fact that an earlier pulmonary angiogram had identified a pancreatic cyst(so it was not flagged as an ‘unexpected finding’).
The CT scan was not reviewed or actioned as requested by the radiologist.
A subsequent CT scan conducted on 01.12.22 revealed that the pancreatic cancer had metastasised. Mr Roe died on 23.01.23.
Coroner’s concerns
(1) The evidence revealed that there is currently no method for ensuring that routine CT scan reports are reviewed by clinicians. This is despite a similar occurrence in May 2021. The inquest heard that the Trust are investigating a new IT System which will be able to flag when such issues occur. However this is a medium/long term project with no current completion date known and there is no system in place at present to prevent a repeat of such an incident.