Bit of back story...
In 2019 my mom developed a continuous cough and hoarseness to her voice which was raised as a concern by her then current cancer specialist (she had been treated for cervical cancer). This specialist made a referral for my mom to have a biopsy with a ENT, and a MRI scan of her head, neck, chest, the biopsy come back as a pre cancerous tumour, which at this point they should of kept an eye on with regular follow up appointments but didn't tell my mom of these results and she was just lost in the system and no follow up appointments was made. Over the next 3 years my mom attended numerous appointments and hospital visits due to this on going cough, and worsening symptoms like short of breath, coughing up secretions and she was just palmed off with inhalers, antibiotics told its COPD. She was referred to ENT after being pushy again about needing a second opinion and they made and cancelled a total of 4 appointments and she never got to see them. These symptoms just kept getting worse and worse to the point certain ways she lay she would struggle to breath, she would choke on food and liquids and the feeling of being suffocated and losing a huge amount of weight. She was at mine and was choking on soft food I prepared for her, she turned blue around the lips and I knew something wasn't right, it was more then COPD, so I called an ambulance, still there was nothing to worry about and they refused to take her to hospital as her blood pressure, heart rate ect was fine, when I told them exactly what happened and her symptoms she had been suffering for several months they just looked at me like I was a idiot, and I shouldn't be trying to do their job for them. At this point enough was enough and I booked a emergency GP appointment and he referred my mom back to ENT clinic. After months and months fighting for this appointment my mom finally got one, she had a camera down her throat and a biopsy which revealed she had a large tumour and narrowing Airways she was diagnosed with T4 laryngeal cancer. Due to her late diagnosis and her tiny 5 stone body not being able to take much the only option was to try and extend her life with a operation to remove the tumour and my mom jumped at the chance even knowing it was coming with high risk. While in theater under anethetic she unfortunately had a heart attack and they had to stop the surgery and fit her with a tracky to help her to breath. When I went to visit my mom the specialist pulled me a side looked at me and told me there was nothing else he could do and proceeded to tell me that all of this could of been prevented if they had done their job properly back in 2019, my mom took in all of the conversation. Over the next month life was extremely difficult, days before Christmas she contracted pneumonia and we was told to prepare for the worst, she had all signs she was going to pass, but miraculously pulled through, but from this point she was fighting with any strength she had to carry on, we was blessed to have until January until she finally took her last breath. Before passing she told me to make a medical negligence claim on her behalf which I was so unsure about but done so for my mom. We are now at the stage of submitting the claim to the nhs and waiting on a letter of response, which is due the 28th of this month after an requested extension from nhs. I mainly want to know why she fell under the radar, why was she lost in the system? I want them to learn from this mistake and hopefully if it just saves 1 person from going through what I seen my poor mom go through my jobs done! But my questions are what happens next? If they accept they was negligent will we get that apology and explanation? Will it then lead to a offer of settlement? (If so whens this likely to happen). Can they request even more time? What are the next steps after this? I just want it to be all over now as I need this time to grieve properly which I felt like I haven't been able to do as I'm still fighting for answers. It's not about the money although it will be a huge help it's most importantly doing what my mom asked of me and getting the answers. The waiting and waiting is killing me inside. I don't know how much longer it's going to take? If anyone can give me any advice please do so.
Thank you