A woman was forced to undergo emergency surgery after GPs failed to spot “red flag” colon cancer symptoms for a year - with one suggesting she had anorexia. Charlie Puplett, 45, raised concerns with her GP surgery about unexplained weight loss, lack of appetite, change in bowel habits, a tender abdomen, stomach pain and bloating, in May 2019.
An investigation by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) found these symptoms should have been red flags leading to urgent attention. While the GP practice in Yeovil, Somerset, did carry out several tests, none of them were for colon cancer.
Charlie said they "just fobbed me off" and "one suggested I had anorexia and was in denial". In April 2020, after vomiting blood and faeces while clapping for the NHS workers outside her home, Charlie called an ambulance.
