A woman has been left fighting for justice after Norfolk's biggest hospital "played down" her mother's cancer diagnosis.
Joanne Williams, 47, is demanding an apology from bosses at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital (N&N) after she claims staff there failed to warn them about the severity of a tumour.
In 2024, her mother, Jacqueline Hall, 76, spent 12 weeks at the N&N recovering from shingles.
At the time, Mrs Hall had been living in Blofield and was admitted to hospital in August after becoming unwell.
She had “stopped eating” so staff completed an MRI scan on her abdomen in September 2024.
Following this, Miss Williams said staff told her a "mass" had been found on one of her mother’s ovaries, but that it was "nothing to worry about".
She then had several meetings with staff in the Guist ward - where her mum was a patient – to discuss moving her to a care home.
In November, Mrs Hall was discharged to a nursing home in Suffolk to be closer to Miss Williams who was moving to Saxmundham.
She had been given an appointment with the gynaecology outpatients at the N&N the following month in December regarding a “small cyst” - but had been unable to attend.
Miss Williams said: “Staff at the N&N had thrown my mum's dentures away, so we were getting new ones on that day.
“At the same time, I thought that was more important as the hospital never mentioned anything about cancer.”
A month later, Mrs Hall was rushed to Ipswich Hospital, where staff reported being "certain" the mass found at the N&N was cancer.
After a nine-week battle with ovarian cancer, following a terminal diagnosis of the illness at Ipswich Hospital in February 2025, Mrs Hall passed away.
‘I AM GETTING NO WHERE WITH THE HOSPITAL’
Now, more than a year on from her mother’s death, Miss Williams is still fighting for answers from the N&N.
She said: "Before my mum died, I raised a complaint with the hospital about why I was told the mass was nothing to worry about. It took them six months to reply.
"The Trust sent me a letter which said the scan raised the possibility of cancer. I was lost for words. I was livid, so angry.
"I wish I had been told it could have been cancer sooner. The hospital didn’t specify it was a tumour at the time.”
She said she is “getting nowhere” with the hospital and added sometimes she “isn’t getting a response” to acknowledge her emails have been received.
‘IT HAS BEEN AN AWFUL COUPLE OF YEARS’
While Miss Williams has praised the ward staff at the N&N, she has criticised the hospital for "playing down” her mother’s condition.
"Don't get me wrong,” she said. “The staff on the ward were brilliant, and I don’t think the outcome would have been any different.
“But we thought she was going to get better.”
Tragically, she also missed out on seeing her daughter walk down the aisle.
She added: "I was due to get married, with my mum present.
“It wasn’t possible given the timeframe we had after being told it was terminal.
"It has been an awful couple of years."
The Trust has since offered an apology regarding the delay in responding to Miss Williams’ concerns but have not commented about specific issues regarding her mother’s case.
Lucy Weavers, interim chief nurse at the N&N, said: “Our deepest condolences are with the family of Mrs Hall following their loss and we have apologised for the delay in responding to their formal complaint.
"A full and thorough review has taken place following the concerns raised which has now been sent to the family on May 8.”
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