Hospital doctors failed to tell a father-of-seven he was terminally ill and falsely reassured him he would recover, the health ombudsman has found.

William Chapman, known as Syd, was told “not to worry” by doctors at the Countess of Chester Hospital after being admitted with shortness of breath in July 2021.

But the 58-year-old found out he had in fact been diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis, an incurable lung disease, when his GP mentioned it in passing on the phone in December that year – eight months before his death.

The Countess of Chester Hospital said it “apologised unreservedly” and accepted the findings of a Parliamentary and Health Ombudsman (PHSO) investigation.

Mr Chapman’s daughter, 32-year-old Chantelle Parker, said her family had “lost trust in the NHS”.

“My dad thought he was going to get better, because that’s what they led him to believe,” she said.

“Because of that he carried on working even though it was a struggle for him.

“If he had known the truth, he would have given up work and made the most of the time he had left with his family.”

The PHSO found that after Mr Chapman, from Upton near Chester, first attended the hospital in July he was referred to a specialist lung department for tests.

The former soldier, who ran a cleaning business, was told by a junior doctor in September 2021 that he had “nothing to worry about”.

The PHSO said the doctor did not know that was the case and that Mr Chapman had been falsely reassured.

In November, a consultant diagnosed Mr Chapman with pulmonary fibrosis and wrote a letter to his GP, but did not send the letter to the patient or contact him in any other way.

Mr Chapman’s GP believed he had been told and casually mentioned the diagnosis in a general discussion about his symptoms, meaning it came as a total shock.

The PHSO said the Countess of Chester took a year to respond to a complaint by the family, did not listen to their concerns and initially did not acknowledge where it had gone wrong.

It also found that consultations with doctors were not recorded properly in Mr Chapman’s medical records and sometimes not recorded at all.

Rebecca Hilsenrath KC, chief executive officer at the PHSO, called the investigation a “disturbing case”.

“When you hear this kind of diagnosis in this way, you lose a sense of dignity and the opportunity to make your own decisions about how to live your life,” she said.

“The family’s trauma was compounded by their treatment during the hospital’s internal complaints handling.”

Ms Parker said a relative had offered to pay for her father to have treatment privately, but he had “such faith in the NHS” that he turned it down.

She added: “Medical staff have a duty of care to tell patients what is really happening.

“It was very traumatic for us all to lose him after being told that he would be fine.”

The PHSO had recommended the Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust acknowledge its failings and apologise to Mr Chapman’s family, make service improvements, improve its record keeping, and pay his wife £1,200.

It said the trust had complied.

Grieving families are waiting up to a year to find out how children have died due to a shortage of pathologists.

Among those who have faced a delay for post-mortem results are Shane Bevan and Laura Tongue, from Tipton, whose baby boy died in hospital in May 2023, just hours after he was born.

The couple said their six-month wait to find out Louie’s cause of death had “felt like a lifetime” and had made it difficult for them to “move forward”.

The Royal College of Pathologists warned the industry was in crisis with no paediatric pathologists currently employed in the West Midlands.

There are just two perinatal pathologists based at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust – they conduct autopsies on foetuses and babies for the whole region.

Ms Tongue, a 34-year-old teacher, said it was “cruel” for families already at “their lowest point in grief” to be left waiting for answers.

Mr Bevan, 34, who works as a behavioural specialist at a local school, called for something to be done to make the process easier for bereaved couples.

He said losing a child is “the worst thing any parent can go through” but the wait had made it “10 times harder”.

Louie was born via emergency C-section at Russells Hall Hospital at 29 weeks old after it was discovered Ms Tongue had reverse blood flow, a serious complication which can mean the baby is not getting enough oxygen from the placenta.

She was only able to stroke his face before he was taken to the neonatal unit.

Initially he responded well, but within an hour his condition had deteriorated and he required CPR.

Mr Bevan said he was asked to go into the room and was left watching “a horrible scene unfold” without any explanation as to what was happening.

Ms Tongue was wheeled in and they were told by the neonatologist after 40 minutes of resuscitation that they needed to stop.

She was never able to hold Louie before he died, something that still makes her “really angry”.

The couple, who have two other children, said they had to fight for a post-mortem examination and then had to chase the hospital for the results.

But after a long wait for answers in November 2023 the report came back inconclusive and the couple said they “still haven’t got that closure” they had hoped for.

In January 2024 a serious incident report found there had been 12 failings in their care, findings which the couple said “destroyed” them.

Diane Wake, Chief Executive of the Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We are deeply sorry for the unimaginable loss that Louie’s parents have gone through.”

She added that the trust had listened to the family’s concerns and had since implemented changes in practice.

For more than two decades the Royal College of Pathologists has raised concerns with the government about the shortage of paediatric and perinatal pathologists.

A report published by the organisation this month found 37% of posts in the UK are lying vacant.

“There are simply not enough consultants to undertake this work and families are suffering,” said Dr Clair Evans, the chair of its advisory committee.

The UK has just 52 paediatric and perinatal pathologists and 13 are due to retire in the next five years, according to the Royal College of Pathologists.

Ryan and Amy Jackson founded the Lily Mae Foundation in memory of their daughter who was stillborn at 37 weeks in 2010.

“When we lost Lily we were told it would be a maximum of 12 weeks [for a cause of death] and what we’ve seen over the years, since then, is it’s got longer and longer,” said Mrs Jackson.

Her husband added: “When you’re in the grief process it’s like your world completely slows down, so for us the 12 weeks felt like 12 years.”

The baby loss support charity, based in Balsall Common, near Solihull, provides one-to-one bereavement support to families and gives out memory boxes.

They said the delays were a postcode lottery, with some families waiting four to six months and others waiting nine to 12 months.

Mrs Jackson said for those families that did have to wait longer “it’s changing that grief journey massively, it’s adding a ton of emotions on, and it’s extending the time-frame for trying again for another pregnancy”.

Among those facing a 12-month wait for post-mortem results are relatives of a baby boy who died at his home in Bartley Green, Birmingham, in June.

Named locally as Kai, he was found in a critical condition at the property on Culford Drive, and died shortly after arriving in hospital.

A woman, 37, who was arrested on suspicion of child neglect remains on police bail.

Neighbours have told us the house in the cul-de-sac now lies empty, a reminder of the tragic loss.

A post-mortem examination has been carried out, but the results are not anticipated for up to 12 months, a coroner for Birmingham and Solihull has told the BBC.

An NHS spokesperson said: “It is unacceptable for any bereaved families to experience significant delays in getting the answers they need following the death of their child, and so we have launched a national programme to strengthen specialised pathology services, which are facing sustained workforce challenges.

“These measures include sharing staff and resources between providers and the use of less invasive options such as genomic testing where appropriate, and the NHS is continuing to work with clinical leaders and an advisory group of bereaved parents to help make improvements to these services for families.”

A young woman has founded a support group for women with reproductive health problems, like polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

Bethany Lewis, 18, is a trainee dental nurse from Weston Rhyn in Shropshire and was diagnosed with PCOS in April 2025.

A few months later she set up The Cysters Circle, which meets up periodically across the county in different towns to reach a wider audience.

PCOS causes painful and irregular periods, and the NHS estimates it affects up to one in 10 women in the UK. “[The circle was] really needed, not just for myself but for other people as well,” Ms Lewis said.

PCOS is a hormonal disorder that leads to ovaries producing large amounts of male sex hormones that interfere with the development and release of a woman’s eggs and can also affect periods and fertility.

Ms Lewis said her symptoms include “very heavy periods” and “dull pain that doesn’t go away,” meaning she often has to take “very strong painkillers.”

The circle supports women and girls with endometriosis, PCOS, or “any other hormonal and reproductive health conditions,” she said.

When she was first diagnosed in April, Ms Lewis said she “didn’t know anything about the condition,” educating herself using the internet.

“It’s been challenging mentally as well as physically,” she added.

“It’s very lonely as well, so it’s good to have the support in the group.”

The group’s first meeting last month had just two other attendees – but a few weeks later, at their next meet-up in Telford, eleven women took part.

“It’s a massive jump in comparison to our first one, and it’s nice to just start building that community,” Ms Lewis said.

Those attending share experiences, recommendations, and vent frustrations.

“We have quite a lot of resources from charities as well that we’re able to hand out,” Ms Lewis continued.

“It’s nice to sit there with people who actually understand what you’re going through.”

Her goal is to “support more women and girls,” adding that raising awareness is needed “not just locally in Shropshire, but around the UK”.

Young women say they were taught how to open a bank account in school, but not how to change a tampon or spot signs of cancer.

“As a person from an ethnic minority background, in some communities it’s actually taboo and quite a sensitive topic to talk about, so if you’re not able to learn about these things in school, then where do you learn?” said 23-year-old Athika Ahmed.

She was among the young people across Wales involved in the design of new school resources to increase understanding of the most common women’s health conditions.

Leaflets and posters will be available to secondary schools covering menstrual health, endometriosis, pelvic health and menopause.

As a member of the Cardiff and Vale health board’s youth panel, Athika said they were able to help shape the information in those resources.

She said she was nervous about speaking to her parents when she started her periods at a very young age, but not being able to get support in school also left her feeling “a step behind”.

She was left with questions such as “when to change your pad, what type of pad you want to use, or the different types of products”.

“I didn’t know the difference between a pad and a tampon,” she said.

“Simple things like hygiene would help young people get a grasp of these things and become the confident young women they could be.”

The menstrual cycle is already a mandatory part of the curriculum in Wales, but this is the first time material has been designed to include conditions such as endometriosis, which affects about 155,000 women in Wales.

The resources include basic information but also direct young people to online resources such as Sexual Health Wales, Brook, Bloody Brilliant and Endometriosis Cymru.

Molly Fenton also sits on the youth panel and said her periods were an early clue to more serious health issues.

“I live with a brain tumour that has an impact on my optic nerve and my pituitary gland, the home of your hormones and my periods were one of the first signs,” she said, adding that she had her first bleed when she was six, before her periods started at eight.

“They really did take over my life, then I lost them when I was 16, which had massive detrimental effects to all parts of my body and I live with long term damage because of that, so my periods were a massive driving force in getting a diagnosis and the support that I needed.

“We are still hearing so many people that can’t even say the word period, or poo, for example.

“Having that conversation could be the starter. Mine’s a very unique situation, not everyone will get diagnosed with a brain tumour or something really serious, but being able to have those conversations and advocate for yourself is huge and these materials have to fill the gap to make that happen.”

Natalie McDonald, a specialist community public health nurse in Cardiff and Vale, said young people will typically want advice about symptoms, rather than specific conditions.

She said school nurses are now being given training in things such as endometriosis, to better signpost young people, but also to reach out to family members or teachers where appropriate, to help them understand the impact on young people.

“Some of the young people we see in schools quite often won’t go to their GP, or there’s barriers.

“So we try and develop a therapeutic, trusting relationship, so these new resources will empower our message.”

The resources are a result of the women’s health strategy for Wales which was published a year ago.

Elen, 17, said boys on the youth panel played a big part in contributing to the design of the new resources, though typically boys and girls are still separated for these lessons in school.

“There’s almost a stigma about it, and you’ll listen in different rooms, which shows you think it’s only relevant to one gender, which of course isn’t true,” she said.

“Everyone has relatives who will go through these things. A lot of people around me suffer with endometriosis or are struggling with the menopause, so a basic understanding from a young age is important.”

Sarah Murphy, Welsh minister for mental health and wellbeing, said women’s health pathfinder hubs are expected to come online “in the next few months” building on existing services to “create a tertiary level support”.

“The biggest change that we are going to see is in the training (for healthcare professionals) and the change in how women are going to be treated.

“That’s the key part of the whole of the women’s health strategy – not to be dismissed, not to have our pain dismissed, and to know these services are there and how to access them. That’s what every health board is going to deliver.”

A mother has called for earlier diagnosis of paediatric brain tumours after the death of her six-year-old daughter.

Sam Tucker, originally from Bristol, believes “opportunities were missed” when her daughter Molly was diagnosed with a large mass. She later died in 2017 when the family were living in Dorset.

Ms Tucker who, along with other bereaved mothers, delivered a study to health ministers showing how brain tumour treatment was not consistent across the country, said she wanted to make sure her daughter’s death was not “for nothing”.

Dorset Healthcare University Foundation said “we do fully investigate all complaints” but would not comment on individual cases.

Ms Tucker said she had “always wanted to be a mum” and was “so excited” to have her first daughter Molly in 2010.

She said at her eight-month check with a health visitor, Molly’s head circumference was measured as part of routine checks which showed it had risen but because no other symptoms were found there was “no concern”.

Looking back, Ms Tucker said she now feels this was a “missed opportunity” and should have been a “red flag and referred”.

Over the next two years, Ms Tucker said she felt “exasperated” because it was becoming “more obvious that something was wrong, but nobody knew what it was”.

One morning, she went to get Molly out of bed and she was “limp” so she was immediately admitted onto the paediatric ward at Dorset County Hospital.

While there, Molly had a seizure and was taken for a CT scan, where they found a “mass on her brain that was so big they didn’t think they could remove it” her mum said.

Molly was then taken to Southampton Hospital for emergency surgery and her parents were warned that she may not survive the journey.

“I was never more scared in my life,” said Ms Tucker.

Molly had a 10-hour “debulking” operation to remove most of the tumour, a procedure that is normally done when the entire tumour is too large to remove or is in a place that makes complete removal unsafe.

When the operation was over, the family said 5% of Molly’s tumour was left.

Ms Tucker, who was pregnant with her second daughter Rebecca at the time, said she doesn’t how Molly survived as long as she did “with that growing inside her”.

Molly spent the next two weeks in intensive care before starting chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and was eventually able to go home and “stabilised” for 18 months.

But in 2017 she relapsed, with Ms Tucker saying at this stage the tumour “eventually took over”.

Earlier this week, Ms Tucker joined the Angel Mums – who have all lost children to brain tumours – in London to present a study to health ministers.

Put together by the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission, which is a brain cancer charity set up in memory of the former culture secretary and MP who died in 2015, the study includes 13 recommendations to change the way brain tumour patients are treated.

Dr Nicky Huskens, CEO of the brain cancer mission, said the report showed “core treatment” such as surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy was “consistent no matter where you live”.

But it can make a difference to the “access you have to trials”.

Dr Huskens said the study also found “specialised care”, to help patients return to school and provide mental health support, also differs based on location.

The group set off from Westminster and walked to Great Ormond Street Hospital, wearing angel wings, where they handed the paper over before singing carols.

Ms Tucker said she hopes the study will bring about change so Molly “didn’t die for nothing”.

“The children who died don’t have a voice anymore, and if they did, they would be saying ‘go for it, make sure change happens’,” she added.

Minister for Public Health and Prevention Ashley Dalton said every child deserves “equal access” to treatment for brain cancer “regardless of where they live”.

He said the Department of Health and Social Care was “committed to giving all cancer patients access to clinical trials” and keep making “progress on cutting cancer waiting times”.