A WOMAN has won a £10,000 pay out from the NHS following claims her husband was misdiagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome when he had cancer.

Durham and Darlington NHS Trust has denied liability over the seven-year ordeal but agreed to settle the legal case, which was due to be heard at Newcastle County Court this week.

Robert Whitfield had been suffering pain for more than a year before he was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2008, despite tests being carried out the previous year which could have diagnosed his tumour.

Mr Whitfield died at his home in Wolsingham, County Durham, in March 2010.

He first fell ill while on holiday in Scotland in 2006 and was diagnosed at Darlington Memorial Hospital with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) but he continued to experience pain and his family became increasingly worried about his health.

His wife Margaret Whitfield, who now lives in Crook, said: “He couldn’t get up or eat anything. I was really worried about it because he was a strong man. I’ve never known a pain to knock him out before.

“Through 2007 we went backwards and forwards and he was going downhill fast but the doctors didn’t seem to see it. They couldn’t get away from it being IBS.

“We went to hospital on June 13, 2008 and they told us he was three days off dying.

"The doctor said he had a tumour the size of a grapefruit in his bowel and it had spread to his liver. I just got up and walked out. I felt like screaming.”

The couple started legal action in 2008, when a report of his medical care was produced which found a colonic tumour had been missed when tests were carried out in September 2007.

Mrs Whitfield added: “I’ve had to wait and wait for seven years and I still feel as though I’ve let him down because I didn’t get to go to court. I wanted them to stand up and say what has been done and for someone to be accountable.”

A spokesman for County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust said: “The trust wishes to offer its sincere condolences to Mrs Whitfield for the loss of her husband. With the support of independent experts, the care provided to Mr Whitfield was assessed in great detail and the trust denied any negligence.

“Although there was no admission of liability, the trust offered Mrs Whitfield a settlement to bring some closure to the case without further upset and the substantial costs involved for both parties in attending a trial.”

Earlier this week, the Echo revealed how a pensioner's illness was twice misdiagnosed after mistakes at Darlington Memorial Hospital.

Doctors initially thought 79-year-old Maurice Wright, from Ferryhill, County Durham, had cancer when he was admitted in March 2013.

he retired supermarket assistant manager, who worked at the town's Liptons store for a number of years, was later correctly diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism - a blood clot on the lungs.

However, during a subsequent hospital admission staff wrongly concluded that Mr Wright had a pulmonary fibrosis - scarring on the lungs.