My Wife Died In My Arms After Her GP Ignored Her Terminal Cancer In An Over-The-Phone Appointment

A mother-of-three was misdiagnosed in an over-the-phone GP appointment, four months before dying of cancer. 

Her grieving husband, who saw his wife die in his arms, is now demanding that phone consultations with a general practitioner be discontinued.

Laura Barlow, 33, was recently wed to her husband Michael when she started to feel unwell, experiencing abdominal pain and blood in her poo.

The couple have three children together Bella-Mia, Summer-Akye and Bonnie-Rae.

In October 2023, she was diagnosed with endometriosis on a telephone call with a GP at Stickney Surgery in Lincolnshire.

Her GP scheduled a gynaecological consultation at Pilgrim Hospital and prescribed medicines.

While at work two months later, she started to feel intense pain in her stomach. Michael tried to take her to the GP but was advised to instead visit the Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC) at the hospital where she was given morphine to help manage the pain. 

After more than two hours stuck in a waiting room, Michael claims they were dismissed by doctors because Laura was already being treated for endometriosis.

Michael said: ‘We went to Urgent Care and she was assessed and they gave her morphine for the pain.

‘After two hours of waiting we saw a doctor who told us that because she was already seeing a doctor for endometriosis, there was no point him dealing with it as well.’

A week later on New Year’s Eve, Mrs Barlow was taken to hospital with pain in her abdomen and was told to come back on January 2 for an ultrasound scan.

The scan showed lesions on her liver and she was put on a two-week cancer pathway.

A few weeks later in mid-January, she was admitted to Pilgrim Hospital’s A&E department where she was finally diagnosed with cancer.

Micheal said: ‘It was a shock when we heard she had cancer, we thought if it was the liver, they could cut a bit out and you can live without it. We thought she would be ok.’

On February 2, Michael and Laura were supposed to be on holiday at CenterParcs with their children. While their children went ahead with Laura’s sister, the couple heard the devastating news about Laura’s cancer.

They were told that Laura had 95 per cent cancer in her liver and her bowel and that she was now terminal.

‘They told her to go home and spend time with our kids.’

Michael and Laura hooked up with their kids at CenterParcs where they enjoyed a final family holiday together.

Laura was wheelchair-bound and taking morphine for her pain during the short trip.

Laura’s health continued to worsen a few days following the holiday.

Sadly, she died on February 6.

Michael said: ‘I had phoned her dad to meet me at the house to help. The doctors had given her some stuff to make her relaxed.

‘We fell asleep together, she was in my arms. I woke up to the others telling me “Mike, she’s gone.’

Michael believes that blood tests should have been taken earlier.

‘It makes me angry because it is all about what if,’ he said, ‘could they have caught it earlier, could we have had longer?

‘I’m not saying she wouldn’t have died, but could we have got another six months together?’

Almost a year on, Michael is being supported by his family as he raises his three children as a single parent.

He said: ‘I have three kids aged two, three and ten. I have a fantastic family who support me every day as much as they can.

‘It is hard though. I have my three-year-old asking if mummy is coming home. I have to tell her she is with nanny now and they are both watching over us.’ 

After Laura passed away, Michael launched a petition urging the government to require in-person consultations for every doctor’s appointment.

The petition has already acquired more than 130,000 signatures.

He said: ‘A lot of people have told me it has pushed them to see a doctor instead of talking on the phone.

‘If a person says they would like to see a doctor, they should have that right. If someone had seen her things may have been different. My wife never got that right.’

A representative for United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs Pilgrim Hospital, and Stickney Surgery, said: ”The NHS in Lincolnshire would like to again extend our deepest condolences to Laura’s family.

‘Patient confidentiality means we are unable to comment on individual cases, but we will continue to speak to Laura’s family about their concerns as appropriate.’

I feel very sad for this family and I do wonder how many people are now dying undiagnosed. I would guess the figures would astound most of us.

The NHS has long been unfit for purpose, with the most severe decline occurring in the last five years. Because the third world is flooding into our nation, we are now at the mercy of a third-world service, and I worry whether there is any hope for the future.

It’s time that monthly publishing of avoidable deaths was mandated for the NHS because this lady may have been saved by blood tests done on a first visit to the doctor’s surgery to rule out anything suspicious.

The NHS is now a lottery for life and death.

It is shameful how after 5 years on from the COVID pandemic GPs are still not seeing patients face to face. Every other occupation has gone back to work, but doctors still haven’t, yet they are still getting paid for it – extremely favourably paid for that matter!