'I've been an NHS worker for years - but I've lost faith in the service after mum's treatment in Wakefield'

Carli Woods, 35, from Cross Gates, has worked as part of the NHS for the last five years.

Her mum, Patricia Megson, died just weeks after being diagnosed with cancer earlier this year.

Carli said that her mum’s treatment during the illness was “absolutely horrendous”, as she alleged her family were left waiting for answers from staff at the Wakefield hospital and told incorrect information on more than one occasion.

Now, she has been waiting almost three months for a response to an official complaint she submitted in February.

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A hospital boss said this week that an investigation is ongoing – and that staff will “work closely” with Carli’s family to “address specific areas where we can improve”.

Patricia Megson was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer in January. Just days after the diagnosis, her family reported a change in her personality.

Carli, who works as a case administrator, explained: “We assumed that the painkillers were causing the confusion, but when she stopped taking them the confusion didn’t stop, so we called 111.”

She said that she was told by an operator to take her mother to Pinderfields Hospital, where staff would be waiting for her as a “referral” would be sent.

However, when she arrived at A&E, she said she was told by a receptionist that the family had been “misinformed” and that the hospital does not receive any kind of referrals from 111.

Patricia was seen nonetheless and, after blood tests and CT scans, Carli said that she was told in a corridor that the cancer had spread to her mother’s brain and was terminal.

“To be told that in a packed corridor was awful,” she said. “We were advised not to tell mum because she was really confused and agitated.

“All of it was so surreal. You read about things like this happening all the time, but you don’t expect it to happen to you.”

Patricia was kept at Pinderfields for five nights on an acute assessment ward and was visited by a doctor daily. Carli said that the doctor told them they were waiting for an oncologist – but after three days they had not materialised.

She said she then rang the hospital, only to be told that there were no oncologist doctors working there and that they had again been “misinformed”.

“No one seemed to know what was going on,” said Carli. “We never saw the same ward nurse twice. It was different people each time – so we kept having to rehash everything.

“I can't understand why a consultant would tell us that an oncologist was coming if there weren’t any oncologists at the hospital.”

She added: “It took my sister to stand crying at the nurse’s station pleading for us to be given any real information.”

Her family later asked for Patricia to be given steroids and discharged, amid concerns about her “being left alone for another night”.

After the experience, Carli wrote a lengthy complaint to directors at the Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust, copying in NHS England and MPs.

Her mum died on March 9. Carli followed up her complaint with another letter, asking about progress on the investigation. However, she says she has still not had a response.

“The hospital has called me three times asking for more time to respond to the complaint because the people looking into it have gone off sick,” said Carli.

She added: “I've always backed the NHS, I've worked with them for a long time. But I have absolutely no faith in any part of it at all now. I still believe that the individuals on the frontline are working hard, but I think the NHS is being let down from the very top.”

Remembering her mum, Carli said: “She was someone who just loved life – and she idolised her grandchildren. One of her friends described her as ‘the smallest, funniest, loudest person you'd ever meet’.”

Talib Yaseen, Chief Nursing Officer at Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust, said: “We’re very sorry to hear about Carli and her mother’s experience with us, and would like to offer our condolences for the family’s loss following Patricia’s death.

“We strive to achieve an excellent patient experience each and every time, where every patient is treated with kindness and compassion.

“Our investigation into Carli’s complaints is still ongoing, and we will work closely with Carli and her family with a view to working with them to address specific areas where we can improve.”