Woman who was dismissed by A&E and given phone appointment instead dies following devastating misdiagnosis

A woman who was dismissed by A&E and given a phone appointment instead has tragically died following a devastating misdiagnosis.

Laura Barlow, a mother of three young children, died aged just 33 years old after 'battling to secure GP appointments' and being 'repeatedly dismissed by A&E for months'.

Laura's husband, Michael Barlow, is now calling on health authorities with a petition to mandate face-to-face consultations for all GP appointments following his wife's untimely passing.

Laura Barlow tragically died aged 33 after her symptoms were 'dismissed' for months on end (Supplied)

Why did Laura initially seek a diagnosis and why was she given a phone appointment?

Michael exclusively told Tyla that his wife 'started to have pains in her belly and noticed blood in her stool' near the end of October 2023.

Clearly worried about the symptoms and in pain, Laura then phoned a surgery about an appointment, but was told a doctor would ring her back to discuss the matter.

"When the doctor phoned my wife, my wife explained to her about her pains in belly and blood in her stool that's when she said it was endometriosis," Michael continued.

How long did the phone appointment last and what happened afterwards?

"The phone call only lasted few minutes," Michael explained, adding he was 'not really sure' how long exactly.

After the brief phone call, Laura was told by the doctor that she would refer her to a gynaecologist, and also prescribed her medication pain killers for her belly pain.

According to the petition, when she finally received tests, it was too late, as she was diagnosed with cancer and tragically passed away within just three weeks.

"This preventable death could have been avoided if the GP had seen her face-to-face in the first place," the petition writes.

Laura was ultimately diagnosed with cancer and died three weeks later (Supplied)

Could a face-to-face appointment have saved Laura's life?

"If my wife Laura was seen face-to-face, she [the doctor] would have seen how much pain she was in," Michael shared, adding that they may have 'done bloods' or 'told her to go to UTC urgent care or A&E where they would have done tests and bloods'.

"Speaking over a phone, you can't actually see that patient," he continued. "Face-to-face could have made a difference."

Looking back on the diagnosis, Michael said: "It's all about 'what if's' - if bloods and tests had been done in November, could we have started chemo in the end of November or beginning of December?

"Could we have had more time with my wife? We won't ever know, they took that away from us."

What needs to be done to stop this happening to other people?

Michael urges that 'doctors need to go back as it was before COVID-19', stating the importance of patients seeing their doctors face-to-face.

"People are dying because they're being misdiagnosed over the phone," he says. "Patients are ending up in A&E poorly because they can't see their doctors."

Noting that his wife Laura was 'failed by the system', Michael also shared that he's since had many messages from other people who told him their loved ones have sadly passed away after being 'misdiagnosed over the phone'.

"This has got to stop," he declared. "Face-to-face saves lives."

Laura leaves behind three young children alongside her loving husband, Michael (Supplied)

Michael concluded: "My wife Laura Barlow didn't get the opportunity to have chemo because it was too late, but if bloods and tests were done earlier, then we might have and then we could have had more time - how long, we will never know, but it could have given us more time with her.

"It's all about 'what ifs'," he reiterated, adding that still 'to this day' he doesn't know what type of cancer Laura had despite asking 'many times'.

Michael is sharing his wife's story in the hopes of making face-to-face appointments mandatory for all GP appointments.

"We believe that all patients should be entitled to face-to-face consultations as standard practice in healthcare settings across our nation," the petition reads.

"It's time we put an end to avoidable tragedies like Laura's by ensuring everyone has access to comprehensive healthcare assessments which can only truly be achieved through direct patient-doctor interactions."

You can sign the Change.org petition here.

Tyla has reached out to the NHS for comment.

If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact Macmillan’s Cancer Support Line on 0808 808 00 00, 8am–8pm seven days a week.