A DAUGHTER claims her father might still be alive today if a hospital had not left him waiting months for an operation.

Bladder cancer sufferer John Howe, 62, from Plumstead, was referred to Woolwich’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital’s urology department in October 2008.

However, he was not referred to Guy’s Hospital for treatment until March 3 last year and was not operated on there until April.

He died on July 26 last year.

His daughter Donna Howe, of Glyndon Road, Plumstead, is now considering legal action and is calling for a public inquiry into the conduct of the urology department at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

A recently published report into her father’s treatment by a Princess Royal University Hospital consultant urologist criticises the way Mr Howe needed to wait 11-and-a-half weeks from his initial referral until he heard a diagnosis.

Adding that “the long-term outcomes of treatment are better if treatment proceeds rapidly”, it concludes: “In my opinion Mr Howe’s treatment was excessively delayed.”

News Shopper: Donna Howe with her father John But it admits that even with improvements to the way the case was handled there “is no guarantee that this would have made any difference to the outcome.”

Dr Chris Streather, chief executive of the South London Healthcare Trust which runs the hospital, has written a letter of apology to Miss Howe and said the report’s recommendations, including a one-stop haematuria clinic, had now been adopted.

But Miss Howe said: “The delays to my father’s treatment were totally unacceptable.

“There’s been a lot of reports saying if you leave it more than 12 weeks before you operate then prognosis worsens.”

She added: “The complaints process has also been a disaster. I’ve been trying to get my questions answered since last November and it still hasn’t happened.”

Miss Howe wants others who have had similar problems to contact her on londonlink@hotmail.com

News Shopper: Ramon Niekrash won his claim against the trust DR NIEKRASH

A DOCTOR won an employment tribunal against the South London Healthcare Trust earlier this year after being suspended for warning about problems at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital’s urology department.

Consultant urologist Ramon Niekrash had written a series of letters from 2005 onwards complaining about cuts, eventually leading to a 10-week suspension in 2008.

This included the closure of a urology ward, reductions in specialist nurses and the dispersing of cancer patients around the hospital.

Miss Howe is among 212 people to join a Facebook group supporting the doctor after he was left thousands of pounds out of pocket by his legal action.

News Shopper: Trust chief executive Dr Chris Streather says "The clinical case for change is overwhelming". HOSPITAL INVESTIGATION

The Care Quality Commission is monitoring the South London Healthcare Trust after staff at its three hospitals went public with their concerns.

There have been recent reports of equipment shortages, lack of beds and clinical risks to patients at Farnborough’s Princess Royal University Hospital, Queen Mary’s in Sidcup and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

But consultants and staff have received letters warning them about going public.

The trust claims mortality rates have dropped by 30 per cent at the hospitals since the trust was formed last April.