My wife died in my arms after her GP dismissed her terminal cancer in an over-the-phone appointment and mistook her symptoms for a common illness
A mother of three was misdiagnosed during a telephone appointment with her GP four months before she died of cancer.
Her grieving husband, who witnessed his wife’s death in his arms, is now calling for telephone appointments with a GP to be cancelled.
Laura Barlow, 33, had recently married her husband Michael when she started feeling unwell, experiencing stomach pains and blood in her poo.
The couple have three children together Bella-Mia, Summer-Akye and Bonnie-Rae.
In October 2023, endometriosis was diagnosed during a telephone conversation with a GP at Stickney Surgery in Lincolnshire.
The GP prescribed her painkillers and booked her for a gynecology appointment at the Pilgrim Hospital.
Two months later, when she was at work, she began to feel severe pain in her abdomen. Michael tried to take her to the GP but was advised to go to the Emergency Treatment Center (UTC) at the hospital instead where she was given morphine to help manage the pain.
After sitting in a waiting room for more than two hours, Michael claims they were dismissed by doctors because Laura was already being treated for endometriosis
Michael said: ‘We went to A&E and she was examined and they gave her morphine for the pain.
Mike and Laura Barlow on their wedding day with their three children
Laura Barlow died just months after her first telephone appointment with her GP
‘After waiting for two hours we came to a doctor who told us that there was no point in him getting involved because she was already seeing a doctor for endometriosis.’
A week later, on New Year’s Eve, Mrs Barlow was taken to hospital with pain in her stomach and was told to return on January 2 for an ultrasound scan.
The scan revealed lesions in her liver and she was put on a two-week cancer treatment course.
A few weeks later, in mid-January, she was admitted to the Pilgrim Hospital emergency department, where she was eventually diagnosed with cancer.
Michael said: ‘It was a shock when we heard she had cancer, we thought if it was the liver they could cut a piece out and you could live without it. We thought she would be fine.”
On February 2, Michael and Laura were supposed to be on holiday at CenterParcs with their children. As their children moved on with Laura’s sister, the couple heard the devastating news about Laura’s cancer.
They were told that Laura had 95 percent cancer in her liver and intestines and that she was now terminal
“They told her to go home and spend time with our kids.”
Michael is now calling for face-to-face GP appointments to be made mandatory and has received more than 130,000 signatures on an online petition
Michael is supported by his family as he raises his three children as a single parent
Michael and Laura stayed with their children at CenterParcs where they enjoyed a last family holiday together.
Laura was wheelchair-bound and took morphine for the pain during the short trip.
A few days after the holiday, Laura’s condition continued to deteriorate.
She unfortunately passed away on February 6.
Michael said: “I had called her dad to meet me at the house to help. The doctors had given her some stuff to relax her.
‘We fell asleep together, she was in my arms. I woke up to the others telling me, “Mike, she’s gone.”
Michael believes that blood tests should have been done earlier.
“It makes me angry because it’s about what if,” he said, “they could have caught it sooner, or we could have taken longer.
Michael believes Laura may have had a better chance of survival if blood tests had been done earlier
Michael and Laura had just gotten married when she started having pain in her stomach
“I’m not saying she wouldn’t have died, but could we have gotten another six months together?”
Nearly a year later, Michael is supported by his family as he raises his three children as a single parent.
He said: ‘I have three children aged two, three and ten. I have a fantastic family who supports me as much as possible every day.
‘It is difficult. My three year old asks if mommy is coming home. I have to tell her that she is with the babysitter now and that they are both watching over us.’
After Laura’s death, Michael started a petition calling on the government to make face-to-face consultations mandatory for all GP appointments.
The petition has already received more than 130,000 signatures.
He said: ‘Many people have told me it has made them want to go to a doctor instead of making phone calls.
‘If someone says he would like to see a doctor, he should have that right. If anyone had seen her, things might have been different. My wife never really understood that.’
A spokesperson for United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs Pilgrim Hospital, and Stickney Surgery, said: ‘The NHS in Lincolnshire would like to once again express our deepest condolences to Laura’s family.
‘Patient confidentiality means we are unable to comment on individual cases, but we will continue to speak to Laura’s family about their concerns as appropriate.’