The Algarve’s health authority is investigating the case of a patient from Quarteira whose complaints of a “strong stomach pain” had allegedly been dismissed as “gas” by his GP since 2012, only to later be diagnosed with cancer.
Diabetes patient Francisco Emídio, 66, had suffered stomach pain since the beginning of 2012, but his family GP kept sending him home telling him he had “gas”.
At one point, his cardiologist apparently requested a series of tests, but again the GP working out of the local health centre didn’t order them, reports Correio da Manhã newspaper
When Emídio later complained about fatigue, the doctor told him that this was “just due to the heat”.
In January last year, the patient had finally had enough and requested a new doctor. He was shortly afterwards diagnosed with an intestinal polyp. Surgery that followed revealed cancer of the intestines and now Emídio is unable to undergo any form of chemotherapy due to his heart problems.
The regional health authority (ARS) claims it is checking the case and has attributed a new family doctor to Emídio and his family.
