The retired history teacher and mother-of-two from Chelmsford, who had terminal ovarian cancer, was treated at Broomfield Hospital in 2023.
An investigation by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) found diagnosis for the patient, referred to as Mrs S, took 49 days and her treatment did not start for 81 days after the referral. NHS England targets at the time were for cancer to be diagnosed within 28 days of referral and treatment to begin within 62 days.
After her son complained about his mother's treatment, the trust said that it had improved its performance on cancer wait times, however, PHSO's investigation found its performance against its treatment targets had declined.
In 2023, the trust failed to meet all of the NHS England cancer wait time targets. Only 47.6% of patients were treated within 62 days, compared to the national target of 85%. By July 2025, that had dropped to 46.1%. Trust figures show that at the end of August, 664 patients were waiting longer than 62 days to confirm a cancer diagnosis, or rule it out, and begin treatment.
Dawn Scrafield, chief executive of Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, said: ‘We know that waiting for cancer diagnosis and treatment is a worrying time and we offer sincere apologies to Mrs S's family for the delay in her treatment. Demand has increased, and we are reviewing how we manage the need for more diagnostic services. We have begun an integrated improvement plan, working with our health and care system partners to speed up treatment times and get patients to the right place at the right time.
‘We have invested in new technologies to help us treat cancer faster and have recently opened new a community diagnostic centre in Thurrock, which is improving access to scans and diagnostic tests.'
The trust said it had been engaging with Mrs S's family since her death in 2023. Mid and South Essex is in National Oversight Framework Level 4 offering support from NHS England to make improvements to cancer services, finances and waiting times.
Thurrock community diagnostic Centre is one of four that will be opened by the trust in the next 18 months.
