A Mottingham woman whose life-threatening abdominal cyst was misdiagnosed and who then waited two months for a hysterectomy claims the procedure was cancelled hours beforehand because her medical notes had been "misplaced."

Breda Lawrence, 65, of Hinton Close, was originally diagnosed with a urinary infection by staff at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in August and was given antibiotics for treatment after collapsing in A&E.

But, concerned that the pain was not subsiding, in August 68-year-old husband Colin paid £150 for an emergency scan at The Scan Clinic, Erith, which revealed a large cyst the couple were told could be cancerous.

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A scan of Mrs Lawrence's abdominal cyst

After a two month wait, surgery was scheduled for November 13 at Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

But just two hours before the appointment, Mrs Lawrence said hospital staff told her that they could not proceed because her medical notes had been misplaced - something the hospital now denies.

Mr Lawrence said: "That hospital needs a kick up the backside.

"They should have had all the notes and the medical records. What was the point of calling her in for the operation? My wife is absolutely terrified."

Mrs Lawrence has not yet been offered a new appointment by the hospital.

Mr Lawrence added: "The cyst looked absolutely massive, so much so that the doctor at the private clinic was mortified and really concerned. He even called up the hospital but they still dismissed it as just a urinary infection.

"Is it a hospital or a jamboree show? My wife’s stomach is huge. It looks like she’s carrying twins. I can’t just sit there and watch my wife die."

A Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust spokesman said: “Due to medical reasons, a decision was taken to postpone Mrs Lawrence’s surgery; this was not due to missing patient notes. We would like to apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused.

“We are sorry to hear that Mrs Lawrence is unhappy with the care that she received at Queen Elizabeth Hospital. We would like to look into her concerns and will be in contact with her directly to discuss them further.”