A doting husband has spoken of his devastation after his wife was dealt a heartbreaking terminal diagnosis following hospital failings.

Theresa Finter, 42, from Tyersal, Bradford, has just four years left to live after an originally benign ovarian cyst turned cancerous.

The Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said its care “fell below acceptable levels” and says it will ensure lessons are learnt.

The mother-of-seven, who also has one grandson, was admitted to the accident and emergency department at Bradford Royal Infirmary with abdominal pain in April 2016. While an ovarian mass was identified on imaging, no follow up appointment was arranged.

As a result, the mass continued to grow and further delays meant Theresa did not have surgery to remove it until March the following year.

And after the operation, she received the devastating blow that the mass was cancerous. The cancer had also spread to her lymph nodes.

Following the problems, Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust launched an investigation and its final report outlined a number of failings, including a failure to recognise and monitor the borderline left ovarian cyst in 2012 when it was originally identified, as well as the subsequent delay in arranging surgery to remove it.

Theresa’s family are now trying to come to terms with the heart wrenching news as she undergoes more gruelling treatment.

Her husband Robert, 44, said: “It has been a very difficult time. She’s my rock, my best friend.

“I just feel like they have ruined us. My children, they’re devastated. Obviously the older ones know more than the little ones. We just have to take each day as it comes. Every time I go to the hospital, my blood boils.”

Speaking about Theresa, who he has been with more for than 20 years and married to for seven years, he said: “I owe her everything. I met her and she turned my life around and gave me something to live for.”

And he said their friends see Theresa as a “rock”, earning her the nickname of Mother Theresa because of her caring nature.

The diagnosis has taken its toll on the couple’s seven children, the eldest who is 23 and the youngest who is nine, with one telling Robert: “The hospital has broken mum and they can’t put her back together.”

He says Theresa will never come to terms with what has happened and, before her diagnosis, had said she was the happiest she had ever been. He said: “She’s destroyed, she’s devastated. They just seem to have broken her.”

It’s hoped the family will be able to enjoy a holiday together and Robert has vowed to do the best he can for his children. He said: “The reason we wanted to pursue things is we don’t want this to happen to any other family.”

As a result of the trust’s report, Theresa turned to specialist medical negligence lawyers in her battle for justice.

That battle has now taken a step forward as the trust has made an admission of liability in relation to her care.

Theresa said: “It remains very hard to take that there were so many missed opportunities to help me and I’m still coming to terms with everything I’ve faced. The admission from the NHS trust is very welcome but taking this legal action was always about more than money – it is about ensuring that lessons are learned so that no one else suffers in the manner that I have.”

Lawyer Katie Warner, of Irwin Mitchell, said: “This is a truly devastating case in which a number of very serious concerns have been raised by the subsequent investigation. While the admission of liability is an important step forward in this case, we are now determined to ensure that our client gets the financial support and justice she deserves following the traumatic series of events she has been through.”

A spokesperson for Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We would like to extend our sincere and heartfelt apologies to Theresa and her family for the harm to her health and significant distress caused.

“We have taken this incident extremely seriously and acknowledge fully that the care we provided to her fell below acceptable levels.

“The Foundation Trust took immediate actions to investigate the circumstances surrounding this and we will ensure that lessons are learnt by all staff and that lasting improvements to clinical care are made.

“We have worked closely with Theresa during her treatment and continue to offer any support she or her family needs.”

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