Big Pay-Out For Family Of Cancer Mum Lavinia

Graham Fitzgerald, Sky News Online

The family of a young mother of two who died from an aggressive cancer after a hospital's misdiagnosis have been awarded £330,000 in an out-of-court settlement.

Lavinia Bletchly died after being sent home on three separate occasions from the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend, where doctors claimed there was nothing seriously wrong with her.

On one occasion it was even suggested the 23-year-old was simply imagining she was ill.

A senior consultant told her she needed psychiatric attention and suggested she go home, to free her bed for more urgent cases.

Just four weeks later the young mother died from peritonitis and Malignant Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma.

Speaking after the settlement was agreed at Cardiff High Court, her father Arthur Bletchly said the hospital initially denied being responsible for his daughter's death.

He told Sky News it was only after a four-year battle that it finally accepted it was to blame.

"Today is a good day," he said, fighting to control his emotions. "We have the two children and that's what has kept us going."



Lavinia's father Arthur Bletchly in tears after the settlement was confirmed by a judge


Miss Bletchly, who was a full-time Textile Design student at University of Wales Institute Cardiff, first became unwell in May 2004, shortly after the birth of her second child.

A number of examinations during the next eight months ruled out gynaecological problems but she continued to complain of pain in her abdomen and pelvis.

In February 2005 a pelvic ultrasound revealed a cyst and an exploratory operation revealed fluid above the liver.

Over the next three weeks Miss Bletchly was admitted on three separate occasions to the Princess of Wales Hospital.



The Princess of Wales hospital

At one point she was told by a senior consultant that there was no medical reason for the pain she claimed to be in and should instead seek psychiatric attention.

Finally, on March 7, 2005, she underwent a CT scan leading to further surgery which revealed an extensive malignant tumour had encased her bowel and spread up to her stomach.

Soon after Miss Bletchly suffered a ruptured bowel, which caused peritonitis, leading to multi-organ failure. She passed away on March 24, 2005. Experts say that if the cancer had been diagnosed just four weeks earlier, she would have survived with a full life-expectancy.

Miss Bletchly left behind two daughters, Shaila, now aged nine, and Chloe, now six, as well as her partner and the father of both children, Justin Tellem.

Abertawe Bro Morgannwg NHS Trust finally admitted liability in July 2009 for failures in Miss Bletchly's care and agreed an out of court financial settlement earlier this year.

No money can ever bring her back but it will teach them a lesson and hopefully they wont make the same mistakes!