A man has claimed that the local health board and hospital failed his father, after a delayed cancer diagnosis resulted in his death.

Martin Evans’ father David, from Llangynidr, died from advanced rectal cancer on January, 2, 2021 at the Brecon Hospital, after a missed cancer diagnosis.

Mr Evans Sr was first admitted to Nevil Hall Hospital in Abergavenny in May 2019 after suffering a heart attack.

During his time in the hospital, Mr Evans Sr developed a severe bout of diarrhoea, which his son believed could have been caused by the medication he was on.  

Martin said: “I was told the diarrhoea was being caused by a virus, and because my father was not the easiest person to talk to, he suffered in silence while I was under the impression it cleared up.

“I was sometimes better to try and observe, rather than ask or advise.”

However, by May 2020, the diarrhoea had become chronic, and by the July, Mr Evans Sr had been re-admitted, and eventually diagnosed with advanced rectal cancer.

The consultant was “cautiously optimistic”, and discussed inserting a stent, radiotherapy, removal of the tumour and chemotherapy.

Months later, a call from a registrar at the hospital advised Mr Evans Sr was given a colostomy, which, according to Martin, was regarded as “palliative care”.

He said: “I sought a second opinion and was told that the rectal tumour would not be my father's nemesis but that spread of the cancer would be.

“It was therefore important to build my father up, to take the strain which chemotherapy would impose. I knew this would be difficult, as my father was always happiest doing practical jobs.

“He spent more time making or modifying things, than using them.”

The family were later told by their GP it was likely his father would see Christmas 2020, but not 2021, which Martin says was “false hope” given his father died in January 2021.

After speaking with the team at Velindre Cancer Centre in Cardiff, Martin was told that while chemotherapy was an option, it would likely only prolong his father’s life and not improve the quality.

Mr Evans Sr refused, and began to go downhill in the October of 2020, and was admitted to the Brecon Hospital just three weeks later, never to return home.

Martin said: “After a while, he seemed to pick up and believing that we had more time than was the case, I was still awaiting second opinions. Some doctors even spoke of my father coming out for Christmas but it was all rather disjointed.

 “I even spoke to the physiotherapists, as after weeks in bed, I couldn't see how my father could just come home. We had been given a hospital bed, but the carers would need to be advised to call once more. Eventually, one of the nurses told me my father was too weak to be moved.”

A Covid scare just before Christmas meant Martin could not visit his father until the week of Christmas, at which time he seemed to improve up until Christmas Day.

It was at this point the family were told that Mr Evans Sr had been put on an end-of-life pathway.

Martin said: “I made arrangements to stay at the hospital until the end, my mother being brought in on the last morning.

“I shall never forget watching him die, though it all seemed unreal at the time.”

Since his father’s death, Martin has been searching for answers as to who failed his father and how the cancer, which had allegedly been growing for a while, was missed in 2019.

Nevil Hall told him that his father had only been treated for a heart attack, but later admitted he should have been investigated further for his bowel issues, and by not doing so, there had been a “missed opportunity”.

In 2023, the GMC ruled the errors were administrative rather than clinical, with a cardiac consultant by the name of Hutchinson labelled as responsible.

The Welsh Ombudsman awarded £250 to Martin for the “excessive time” taken by the health board, however Martin refused this, saying “you can’t value a life”.

Martin says he was not told he had a deadline of January 2 this year to commence legal proceedings, and he now wants an extension, as he believes the “delays are deliberate”.

He added: “Nothing will bring my father back. I don’t want money; I just want to confront those responsible and finally know how and why this happened.”

A spokesman for Aneurin Bevan University Health Board said: “We have worked with colleagues and the family of Mr Evans to understand the circumstances leading up to the death of their father.

“We’re sorry that Mr Evans is not satisfied with our investigation and would urge him to contact us directly so that we can address any further queries he may have.”