Hospital apologies after woman dies following five cancelled surgeries

Hospital bosses have apologised to the family of a woman who died from a rare form of eye cancer.

Sarah Crowley, from Yeovil, passed away back in May 2023, after a vital operation was pushed back five times at the Bristol Royal Infirmary.

The Trust says it's 'sincerely sorry' and has made improvements to make sure such a tragedy never happens again.

Sarah, a mother-of-two who was awaiting the birth of her fourth grandchild when she died, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of eye cancer called choroidal malignant melanoma in 2016 and was referred for surgery at the BRI in August 2021 after scans showed the cancer had spread to her liver.

But that operation, and four subsequent dates over the next few weeks, were all cancelled – three of which after she was admitted. In desperation she turned to the Royal Free Hospital in London to have it done as there was no guarantee of it going ahead in Bristol.

Further scans following that surgery revealed it had spread and the only real option was a treatment called chemosaturation, which is not funded on the NHS.

Her sister Verity said the delays at the BRI meant it was too late for less invasive treatments and that her time had been “squandered”.

She said that in a desperate attempt to at least live through the summer of 2023, Sarah opted for a treatment called immunotherapy, which she had been reluctant to have because of the side-effects, but that she was then not strong enough to endure this and died after her second course of it.

Verity told the UHBW board: “Death is final, and I believe this is overlooked and disregarded here.

“My sister was a gracious and kind person, she saw the good in people, but this was tested during this time.

“At the fifth cancellation, her comment was ‘I believe they are just cancelling me until I am no longer surgically viable, that takes the decision from them’.

“I would like you to think about that and reflect on how you would feel if it were you or a loved one, because it appears not one person did.

“Your hospital admitted to failings and admitted to failing her.

“You were sorry but that holds no weight when I witnessed first hand the unbearable, unrelenting, cruel mental torture of someone simply trying to live.

“From the point of the routine scan and the suspicion of the lesion confirmed, I have lived through this dreadful ordeal with my sister.

“I have fought tooth and nail to try to help her and continued, not giving up, until her body did just that.

“The anguish Sarah, her husband and family experienced was heartbreaking and was still avoidable if someone had just bothered.”