A MOTHER-OF-THREE has accused NHS Forth Valley of failing her dying mother – and then failing her just a few months later.

Karolina Juszczyk (29) claims doctors failed to spot that her 64-year-old mum’s cancer had spread to her bones.

Then, three months after she died, Karolina says they failed to take seriously a cyst in her ovary which eventually burst. She said, “I was lucky [my scheduled] surgery was two days later. If not they’d have discharged me with internal bleeding.” Karolina, who originally hails from Walbrzych in Poland, but now lives with her husband and children in Alloa, complained to NHS Forth Valley bosses about her and her mother’s treatment. Unhappy with their response, she is now considering legal action.

She said, “I want people to know what happened so they can fight for themselves, because the doctors don’t care.” Karolina’s mum, Irene Sowa, had been battling cancer since 2010, but began to feel pain in her left hip in July 2012. She was examined and given an initial diagnosis of osteoporosis – a condition that causes bones to become weak and fragile.

It was not until she fell five months later and had a further x-ray that medical staff found the cancer had attacked her pelvic bone. An initial assessment made in the A&E department of Forth Valley Royal Hospital missed signs of the disease on the x-ray, but a subsequent review by radiology specialists found the loss of bone and Irene was readmitted to hospital.

She fell again on the 29 December, damaging her right hip, and was transferred to Stirling community hospital to recover.

While there, Karolina claims her mum was subjected to poor nursing care which was not helped by her lack of spoken English – she moved to Scotland from Poland in 2005 to look after Karolina’s children – and bipolar disorder.

Karolina said, “The way they talked to me they made me feel like she was playing up, like there was nothing wrong with her.” Because of the language barrier she claimed at times her mother would have no option but to wet the bed as staff ignored her buzzes for the toilet.

She said, “She would be buzzing for them to come and help put her on the commode and they would come, switch off the buzzer, and walk away. She did that for an hour and then she peed herself. She was left lying in a soaking wet bed.” She was discharged from hospital and cared for at her Alloa home by Karolina. As her condition deteriorated, she was admitted to Parklands Care Home and died on 28 November last year. Karolina said, “She was very strong. I knew she was in lots of pain, but she would always smile at me. My mum told me to take this to the end as she didn’t want anyone else to suffer like she did.” However, just three months later it was Karolina herself receiving treatment – for a cyst in her ovary.

She claims her complaints of excruciating pain were dismissed by doctors and that she was only scheduled for surgery at Forth Valley Royal Hospital after she attended a private Polish health clinic in Glasgow which made an urgent referral.

Then, just days before her surgery, she again experienced pain and bleeding and was admitted to hospital. The surgery found that the cyst had burst resulting in internal bleeding and onset peritonitis.

Karolina said, “If I wasn’t scheduled for 7 March [2014] I would have been dead by now because no-one took me for a scan for the two days [I was in hospital].” NHS Forth Valley apologised for the A&E doctor missing the cancer in her mother’s bones but added that investigations up until that point had found no indication the disease had spread. They added that Karolina’s treatment was investigated and deemed appropriate.

A spokesperson for NHS Forth Valley said, “We are very sorry to learn that this patient is unhappy with the responses to her complaints which have been thoroughly investigated. In respect of her mother’s care, we fully accept that there were a number of failings in the care and treatment provided for which we have apologised. A number of changes have already been made to help prevent these from happening again.

“In terms of the patient’s own care, we immediately carried out a full investigation and provided a detailed response to all the issues which were raised. We are sorry to hear that she remains dissatisfied, but as with any patient who feels they require more information, we would be happy to meet with her and would ask her to get in touch.”