A patients’ group says the tragic case of young mother Latifa Maybury, who died from cancer after the disease went undetected throughout her pregnancy, gives “cause for serious concern” about some of the processes used by King Edward VII Memorial Hospital and doctors in the community.

As recently revealed by The Royal Gazette, Mrs Maybury was just 30 when she died of colorectal cancer in November, having been diagnosed with the terminal disease days after giving birth to her first child, son Khaleel, on May 9 last year.

Before conceiving she visited the emergency room at KEMH with rectal bleeding and the doctor she saw concluded that she needed a screening test for colon cancer — but the “discharge sheet” from the hospital apparently never made it to her GP and the potentially life-saving test wasn’t carried out.

Mrs Maybury’s family has complained to the hospital and the Ombudsman about her care and the results of both inquiries are awaited.

The Bermuda Healthcare Advocacy Group (BHAG), which was formed in 2012 by unhappy KEMH patients and relatives, said it had read the stories on Mrs Maybury with concern and offered condolences to her family and friends.

“We agree that since the matter is in the hands of the Ombudsman, that office should be able to conduct its investigation without a great deal of public comment in the media,” the group said in a statement.

“Nonetheless, The Royal Gazette reporting does give cause for serious concern about a number of the hospital and medical community’s processes and BHAG maintains that if the Bermuda Hospitals Board’s process for dealing with patient complaints was more transparent and patient-friendly, a quicker resolution to the issues could have been reached without the need for recourse to the Ombudsman, which has necessarily delayed this process.

“BHAG would like to see an independent patient representative or ombudsman in place at the hospital, who can address these kinds of complaints. BHAG also believes that there is a reluctance in the BHB to admit liability in cases of alleged wrongdoing because of fear of litigation and the risk of large damages.

“It is BHAG’s experience that patients who have suffered from medical errors or neglect and their families are much less interested in money than they are in knowing what happened to their loved ones, receiving an apology in cases where it is necessary and being given the comfort of knowing that actions have been taken to prevent a repeat of the occurrence.”

Mrs Maybury’s mother-in-law Keetha Lowe has criticised Health Minister Jeanne Atherden for refusing to comment on the case, as well as other members of the ruling One Bermuda Alliance, for allegedly letting the family down.

BHAG said in its statement it did not believe the case was a political issue, adding that it “should not be made into one by criticising the various Ministers of Health who may or may not have been made aware of this tragic event”.

Ms Lowe responded that the Health Minister was responsible for Bermuda’s healthcare system and her silence was “very much an issue”, as was BHB’s alleged evasion of critical details about the case.

Ms Lowe has flagged up the need for independent oversight of the Island’s only hospital, telling this newspaper that BHB’s patient advocate Lorraine Beasley was initially tasked with investigating the family’s complaint but later said she’d been told to stop work on the matter. No report has ever been received from her by the family.

BHB insists it gave appropriate care to Mrs Maybury, as does her GP and obstetrician. The board has said it will make no further comment on the case in the media and is awaiting the outcome of the Ombudsman’s investigation.