A Bow Street widower is calling for a policy change to ensure serious health news is broken in person after his experience with Bronglais Hospital.

Noel Morgan lost his beloved wife three years ago to oesophageal cancer.

He says the pain was made harder after facing a string of issues with Hywel Dda University Health board including being given the news that his wife’s cancer had spread to the bone over the phone.

Mr Morgan states the couple were wrongly told his wife was in remission in June 2021, two weeks before news came that the cancer had spread to her bones - she then passed away in mid-August.

He was given an incorrect death certificate stating the cause of death was stomach cancer, which took three weeks and several hard conversations to change.

After years of back and forth with Hywel Dda, Mr Morgan is now trying to get a “straight answer” from the board to ensure patients are told in person when their “cancer has spread to the bone”.

Mr Morgan, 76, a retired banker and father of two, said: “It’s been three years of hell since losing my lovely wife.

“I’m afraid Hywel Dda have been no help - all I want is answers.

“The doctor at Bronglais Hospital denied they used the word ‘remission’.

“To then be told that the cancer had spread to her bones on the phone I think is criminal.

“Hywel Dda didn’t reply to my complaint for 13 months, knowing that after 12 months I couldn’t report it to the Ombudsman.

“Verbally, Hywel Dda have said they will introduce a policy to so that news of cancer spreading to the bone has to be face to face.

“They are now refusing to respond to my e-mails because they claim the case has been closed.

“If I have further questions, how can they close the case?

“After all, I am the customer.”

Sharon Daniel, Interim Executive Director of Nursing, Quality and Patient Experience at Hywel Dda said: “We would like to offer Mr Morgan our deepest condolences on the loss of his wife.

“While we cannot comment on individual cases, when the health board receives a complaint, we investigate it thoroughly to ensure that appropriate care and treatment has been provided.

“We aim to resolve complaints as soon as possible but in some cases it can take longer than usual to fully investigate.

“We keep in regular contact with the complainant during the process and provide compassionate advice and support throughout the investigation.

“When complainants seek a further opinion, we inform them of their right to contact the Public Services Ombudsman – who in some cases will consider extending the window of time in which they can be contacted.

“We fully support all enquiries made by the Ombudsman.

“It is Health Board policy to offer news of a serious nature either face-to-face or over the phone.

“If a patient is seriously ill and not well enough to attend an appointment, they can choose to receive news over the phone.”