Heartbroken Mum Urges NHS To Take Action In Light Of Son’s Tragic Death
20/03/2011
A grieving mother has vowed that her son’s death will not be in vain after a series of errors in hospital led to a failure to recognise well-known cancer warning signs.
Jordan Terry, from Bexley, Kent, tragically lost his battle against cancer in January 2009 after his GP failed to diagnose and properly treat a mole in its early stages, which developed into malignant melanoma that eventually spread to his groin, lymph system and bones. He was just 23 years of age.
His distraught mother, 51-year-old Karyn Terry, has since called on the NHS to ensure that tragedies such as this are never allowed to happen again, demanding regular assessment of GPs and medical professionals to ensure that they are fit to practice.
Jordan, a former construction worker, was just 19 when he first became concerned about a mole on his lower back after seeing a poster in the site toilets giving advice on what to do if a mole was itching, bleeding, had changed colour or shape.
Jordan visited his GP in July 2005 but he was advised the mole was no danger to him and that it should be treated with cryotherapy to freeze and remove it. Over the next two years, Jordan revisited the same GP twice more when the same treatment was administered. However, each time the mole would scab over and come back bigger, whilst continuing to itch and bleed.
It was only when Jordan was another GP at the same surgery in June 2007 that he was referred to a minor surgery clinic for a biopsy, although this did not take place until December 2007. It was then that he was given the devastating news that he had malignant melanoma.
Following the diagnosis, Jordan had to endure excruciating surgery on his back and groin to try and remove cancerous lymph nodes, followed by a programme of chemotherapy. The treatments were unsuccessful and further tests revealed his cancer had spread to his groin, lymph system and bones. At this point, his chemotherapy was stopped. He tragically lost his battle against the disease in January 2009, just six days after his 23rd birthday.
Following a complaint by Jordan’s family to the GMC (General Medical Council) into Jordan’s GP’s fitness to practice, an expert instructed by the GMC concluded that the standard of care Jordan had received had fallen “seriously below a minimum standard of reasonable professional competence”. The GMC concluded that there was an indication that Jordan’s GPs fitness to practice was impaired, but that he could continue to practice as long as he complied with a series of conditions, including training and supervision.
Jordan’s distraught mum, Karyn, 51, has now instructed medical negligence solicitors at Irwin Mitchell to help them in their fight for justice for their son, adding that she and her family, including daughter Courtney, 23, who is battling a rare kidney cancer, are determined that no one else suffers in the way that they have.
She said: “Jordan was an amazing person who had everything to live for, great friends, a steady job, a loving family and an amazing girlfriend who he had dreams of starting his own family with. It’s heartbreaking to know if he’d been diagnosed earlier and treated properly he could’ve gone on to live a full and happy life, but that chance was taken from him.
“Jordan did everything right, he went to the doctors when his mole started irritating him, and kept going back – but he was let down by our GP in the worst way possible. I want the NHS to do everything in its power to make sure what happened to Jordan can never, ever happen again by making sure GPs are regularly assessed to make sure they’re fit to practice.
“And I want to urge people who aren’t happy with the advice and treatment they’re getting from their doctors is to please ask more questions, and ask for a second opinion. Jordan didn’t want anyone else to suffer like he did, if we can save one life by sharing his story, his death won’t have been in vain.”
Rebecca Cherry, a medical negligence solicitor at Irwin Mitchell, successfully represented the family, securing them a substantial out of court settlement in May last year from the Medical and Dental Defence Union Of Scotland (MDDUS), who represented Jordan’s GP.
In their response to the action brought against their member, the MDDUS accepted there was a failure to recognise a malignant melanoma and that the failure to refer Jordan appropriately has impacted his life expectancy.
Rebecca said she is pleased to have helped the family get an element of closure but is calling for the NHS to provide assurance that a similar tragedy won’t happen again.
“This is an extremely tragic case. Mr Terry was a young man in the prime of his life, looking forward to a future with his girlfriend, but it was cruelly snatched from him following a chain of errors which ultimately led to his premature death. Although the settlement will not bring Jordan back, I hope it will help his family to get an element of closure so they can try to move on and rebuild their lives.
“To get full closure, the family need assurances that a tragedy like this won’t happen again and that steps are being taken to regularly assess doctors, throughout their careers, to make sure they’re fit to practice in the interests of patient safety and saving lives.
“Jordan was not treated by a GP new to the field, but by an experienced family doctor who had been practicing for many years, which demonstrates that regular reviews of GPs are essential for new and experienced doctors alike.
“So many of the cases we deal with emerge as a result of errors that are avoidable, and it is time that lessons are learnt and that steps are taken to help prevent any further terrible tragedies such as those seen in Jordan’s case.”
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