Inquest to probe whether delays to cancer treatment a factor in Fleetwood man's death
An inquest has been scheduled into the death of a Fleetwood man who had lung cancer.
The key question at the hearing on Friday, May 1 regarding forces veteran Frank Kerr, who was 68, will be whether his death could have been prevented if his cancer condition had been picked up earlier by medics.
A pre-inquest hearing at Blackpool Town Hall hear that nodules were found on Mr Kerr’s lung at a health check in 2024 and he was sent an appointment for a CT scan at Blackpool Victoria Hospital as follow-up.
When the arrived for the scan, he was told at reception he was too early due to an apparent error in the appointment scheduling and then another date at the Whitegate Drive Health Centre was cancelled.
No further contact was made and Mr Kerr presented with lower back pain at the A and E department at the Victoria Hospital on December 9 last year.
He was examined and admitted and died in the hospital on December 31, with the primary cause of death bronchial pneumonia, and the secondary cause metastatic lung cancer.
Coroner Louise Rae explained that both would normally be termed natural causes but Mr Kerr’s death was referred to the coroner’s office by the medical examiner, with the question over whether earlier treatment would have made a difference.
Ms Rae said she had statements from four doctors at the Vic outlining details of Mr Kerr’s last days but she requires a statement from the hospital on the earlier timeline and the apparent delay.
She scheduled the inquest for May 1 and gave the hospital a deadline of later this month so Mr Kerr’s family have a clear week in which to read it before the hearing.