Wilsden man David Hulme died after cancer went undetected

Father-of-two, David Hulme, who was originally from Wilsden before moving to Plymouth, had his right lung removed at Derriford Hospital in June 2020. He had a history of chest and respiratory symptoms, including an abscess.

Following the surgery, the lung was tested and sarcoidosis - a rare condition that causes organs to develop small patches of red and swollen tissue - confirmed.

Royal Navy veteran Mr Hulme’s symptoms worsened and he went to another hospital in January 2021.

The lung samples were reviewed again and he was diagnosed with lymphoma, a cancer that originates in the lymph system. He died in March 2021 at the age of 49.

Following his death, Mr Hulme’s widow Sarah, 52, called for an investigation into his care under the University Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs Derriford Hospital.

The Trust told the Telegraph & Argus Mr Hulme's was a "rare and difficult to diagnose condition" and it had missed the correct diagnosis. The Trust added it had undertaken a "comprehensive investigation to understand what happened". 

David Hulme, originally from Wilsden and pictured with his wife Sarah, died in March 2021 (Image: Irwin Mitchell)

Following an inquest, held at Plymouth’s Coroner’s Court in June last year, coroner Ian Arrow issued a Prevention of Future Deaths Report.

In it, he expressed concerns the pathology department was “significantly under-resourced” and requested a review of staffing levels to “ensure timely and accurate diagnosis of conditions".

The Trust admitted a breach of duty in a legal case brought by solicitors Irwin Mitchell on behalf of Mrs Hulme.

It admitted it failed to identify and report a diagnosis of lymphoma and failed to seek a second opinion on test results.

An internal root cause analysis investigation report from the trust also found Mr Hulme “may have survived with earlier treatment".

His operation took place on June 29, 2020. Sarcoidosis was reported, with no follow-up appointment arranged.

His condition deteriorated and he was seen at another hospital around seven months after his surgery. The histopathology results were requested by the hospital for another review.

David was diagnosed with cancer on February 8, 2021. He underwent one round of chemotherapy but died on March 6.

At the time of his death, Mr Hulme lived with Sarah, his wife of 19 years in Plymouth.

He was a former student of St Bede's and St Joseph’s Catholic College in Bradford and was a Bradford City supporter. The couple also had two sons together, Kieran and Joe, aged 21 and 16, and they went to Bradford City games with their father.

David Hulme, who was originally from Wilsden, pictured with his wife and children (Image: Irwin Mitchell)

Mrs Hulme said: “The past two years have been nothing short of awful, firstly struggling to come to terms with David’s diagnosis and then losing him so suddenly afterwards.

“We knew things weren’t quite right after his surgery as his symptoms seemed to get worse instead of better, but nothing could have prepared us for the devastating news that he had cancer.

“David was my soulmate and to this day I’m still grieving for him and the life we had together. What makes it worse is knowing that if his cancer had been found and treated earlier, he may still be here.

“Sadly, there’s nothing I can do to change that, no matter how much I wish I could. The only positive I can take from what’s happened is that action is being taken to help stop other families from suffering like we have."

A University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust spokesperson said: "We try to do our best for all patients but on this occasion, we fell short of the high-quality care we normally give.

"David’s was a rare and difficult to diagnose condition and we missed the correct diagnosis. We are extremely sorry for this and have apologised personally to David’s family.

"We’ve undertaken a comprehensive investigation to understand what happened and take the learning forward to try to prevent something similar happening in future.

"Our changes include continuing to try to recruit more pathologists, both as an individual organisation and working with partners across our local health and care system, as pathologists are a hard-to-recruit medical specialty and we outsource work where possible.

"To that end, we have heavily invested in our specialist trainees, who will be ready to apply for consultant-level roles over the next six to 18 months. We have also shared the learning from this case and ensured there is a forum for ongoing learning from difficult cases within the team.”