Man died of cancer eight months after being given all clear

Man died of cancer eight months after being given all clear
A man died of cancer eight months after being given the all-clear by a doctor — prompting a review of 1,800 other cases at a private treatment centre.

By Richard Savill Last Updated: 6:46PM GMT 04 Dec 2008
Steven Davies, 47, a painter and decorator, underwent two bowel examinations in January 2007 and was told he was clear of cancer. However, he died in September that year from a tumour.
Mr Davies, from Wells in Somerset, had been admitted to Frenchay Hospital in Bristol nine days before his death because he was in severe pain.

Surgeons operated and found tumours that had been present for three or four years. Now his widow, Tracey, 43, is planning to sue Shepton
Mallet Treatment Centre, in Somerset, for alleged medical negligence.
The surgeon who conducted the tests, Ben Mak, from Holland, has been reported to the General Medical Council and has resigned from the centre after being suspended.
Mrs Davies, who has three children, Matthew, 17, Paul, 15, and Hayley, 20, said: "The surgeon who operated on Steve before he died said that he had three tumours from 2003 or 2004 that should have been treated last year."
Mrs Davies’s solicitor, Denise Broomfield, said: "I am very concerned that there are other people who may be in Steven’s situation."

A review has taken place of 1,828 colonoscopies carried out by Mr Mak between his arrival at the centre in 2005 and March this year, amid doubts over their thoroughness. Following investigations, 480 patients have been told that they do not have cancer.
However, the centre has told 100 patients to have a follow-up investigation as a priority, a further 755 have been advised to see or speak to their GPs and 480 have been told that further investigations may be needed in the next five years.
The Government established private treatment centres, which receive NHS funding, to cut waiting lists. The Shepton Mallet centre sees 12,000 patients a year. Mr Davies was referred there by his GP.
A spokesman for the centre said: "The General Medical Council has been informed about this surgeon’s work and a full independent investigation is being carried out."
Naji Abumrad, group medical director for UK Specialist Hospitals Ltd, which runs the centre, said: "I want to apologise to patients who are now being asked to return for a follow-up procedure for any anxiety and inconvenience caused."

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