Spanish man to receive compensation after UK hospital failed to tell him he had cancer

A SPANISH man has won damages from an NHS trust after a London hospital failed to tell him he had cancer.

Raul Guiu Gallardo, who came to the UK in 2000, was unaware that he had the condition for almost a decade.

In 2001 he was admitted to hospital to undergo surgery for what he thought was a bleeding stomach ulcer, but surgeons had removed a large gastrointestinal stromal tumour.

It wasn’t until November 2010 that Mr Gallardo was informed of his diagnosis, and the following year had further major surgery after the cancer had returned.

The NHS Trust said he was properly informed after surgery and the risk of recurrence and that any breach of duty occurred when he was a private patient after his operation and was not its responsibility.

A judge ruled that the trust had failed to carry out its duty to Mr Gallardo and awarded him £38,731 (€44,407) plus interest.

He said it was not out of place to say Mr Gallardo was “lost to the system,” and added that “there is no evidence at all that either he or his GP was appropriately advised of the need for future check-ups and CT scans.”

Mr Gallardo is now back in Spain but is awaiting further surgery in the near future.