A hospital that twice turned away a mum who 'would have done anything for anyone' have admitted their failings after she died.
Baljeet Kaur could have avoided pain and suffering in the final few months of her life if her cancer was diagnosed earlier, an investigation has found
She was twice sent home from A&E after presenting with pain, vomiting and bleeding, BirminghamLive report.
She underwent an X-ray at Sandwell Hospital in January 2019 and was sent home. She was seen at A&E around a month later where she had another scan and was once again discharged.
Following further hospital visits, a mass was identified in Baljeet's abdomen.
The mum, from Smethwick, Birmingham, underwent surgery to remove part of her bowel and was left with a stoma - a medical bag which allows the bowel to open outside of the body.
Tragically, the mum was then diagnosed with bowel cancer and shortly after was transferred to palliative care.
She sadly died in February 2020, when she was just 56 years old.
Following Baljeet's death, her devastated family including daughters, Neetu Kaur, 40, and Amandeep Kaur Bhogal, 38, instructed expert medical negligence lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate their mum's care under the Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust.
It comes after the Hospital Trust admitted that Baljeet was negligently discharged in January 2019 and again in February 2019.
It further admitted that had Baljeet been diagnosed she would have avoided two or three months of pain and suffering.
The Trust apologised for the failings and substandard care that Baljeet received.
Amandeep said: "To lose mum less than a year after her diagnosis was truly heart-breaking and something we were in no way prepared for.
"She was the most loving mum and would have done anything for anybody. It's really tough for us to accept that she's no longer here, particularly after finding out it was terminal just one month after her surgery.
"Cancer is a terrible disease and it’s taken away one of the most important people in our lives. What makes it worse is that we feel like more could have been done to help mum and we feel we raised our concerns several times."
She continued: "We would give anything to have mum back with us, but we know that's not possible.
"To watch her in so much pain and suffering towards the end was the worst, and all we can hope for now is that by sharing our story we can raise awareness of bowel cancer.
"Catching it early could be the difference between life and death for other families."
Mark Anderson, chief medical officer for Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust, apologised for what happened. He said: "We would like to offer our deepest condolences to the family of Ms Kaur and are very sorry for the delay in diagnosis."
Jennifer Shipley, the specialist medical negligence lawyer at Irwin Mitchell representing Neetu and Amandeep, added: "The last two years have understandably been incredibly difficult for Baljeet's loved ones.
"Neetu, Amandeep and the family have struggled to come to terms with losing their mum so quickly after her initial symptoms and subsequent diagnosis.
"Their grieving was made worse by all the questions and concerns they had over the care provided to their mum prior to her death, and whether more could have been done to help her.
"While it's sadly too late for Baljeet, we welcome the Trust's admissions. It's now vital that lessons are learned to help prevent others from suffering how Baljeet did.
"Neetu and Amandeep wanted to share their mum's story to make others aware of the signs to look out for when it comes to bowel cancer. Early detection and treatment is key to beating this disease."
