A doctor is being investigated after a grieving couple claimed their daughter was 'pushed over the edge' after she was told 'in graphic detail' how she would die of cancer.
Fiona Clark, a consultant haematologist at the Worcestershire Royal Hospital, was accused of disobeying the wishes of leukaemia sufferer Vickie Harvey, 24, and her family.
Her parents say Miss Harvey had told doctors that she did not want to be kept updated on her terminal condition, from which she passed away on 10 December 2013.
She had been diagnosed a year earlier, but made clear she would rather not know the details of her illness. Her parents, Eric, 62 and Lynn, 58, had also asked Dr Clark to spare Miss Harvey the truth, with her father Eric allegedly begging Dr Clark not to say anything, only to have their request ignored.
Miss Harvey, a beautician, had been diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia in September 2012 and had a successful stem cell transplant on Christmas Day the same year.
But after months in remission she relapsed in July last year at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham.
She was transferred to Worcestershire Royal Hospital near her family in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, and was placed under the supervision of Dr Clark.
At this point she decided would rather not be completely informed about her condition - leading to 'heartless' Dr Clark allegedly telling her that 'she was going to die'.
Just two weeks later, Miss Harvey had died - and her parents say that she 'gave up' after hearing the news. They lodged a complaint with the hospital this morning.
Mr Harvey said: 'When we were in Birmingham, Dr Clark phoned me up and I had to beg with her for ten minutes not to tell Vickie that she was dying.
'The nurses knew it was on her record that she didn’t want to know what was happening. It was Vickie’s wish, she told us she didn’t want to know anything bad.
'We were always frightened to death she was going to say or let slip to Vickie.
Grief: Eric Harvey, 62 (left) and Lynn Harvey, 58 (right) say that their daughter 'gave up' after hearing that she would soon die
'Then a week later Vickie had a private meeting with Dr Clark. The exam was only meant to take five minutes but we were waiting for half-an-hour.
'After 30 minutes we went in and Vickie was sobbing her heart out. We asked what was the matter and the doctor just said she was upset because she had been told she had to go back to hospital.
'But outside Vickie just turned around and said ‘Dad, she’s told me everything. She told me what’s going to happen to me and what the future holds.
Young: Vickie was just 24 when she passed away - and her parents say she had been asked to be spared the details of her cancer
'All Vickie said was: "Isn’t there anything else you can do?" And the doctor took that opportunity to tell her everything.
'Hearing how she was going to die in such graphic detail shattered Vickie and she just gave up.'
The family also claim Dr Clark even tried to persuade Vickie’s mum Lynn, 58, to sign a ‘do not resuscitate’ form saying she 'didn’t want any hero paramedics' attempting to save her.
Mr Harvey added: 'Not long after we had another meeting with the doctor and she was saying how Vickie’s blood count was going up too high.
'And Vickie’s head went down and she started crying and I had to literally carry her out of the room.
'But when I was outside, the doctor just stood there and said to my wife and my eldest daughter, "you do know she’s going to die don’t you - this is going to kill her"’.
'She even tried to get my wife to sign a ‘do not resuscitate’ form without me in there.
'She said "we don’t want any hero paramedics, they are just going to bring her around but she is just going to die in the A&E".
'The doctor kept saying Vickie needed to know so she could plan what was left of her life but as soon as she knew she didn’t last two weeks.
'I think she gave up. She couldn’t eat well because of the illness but she didn’t even try.
'We knew she was going to die but I always thought she would have been here for Christmas.
'Gave up': Miss Harvey's parents say that Vickie did not even try to eat in her final weeks
'I think she would have lasted another couple of weeks. This doctor just pushed her over the edge.
'The hospital trust have told me they are investigating Dr Clark.'
In his letter of complaint to the hospital trust, Mr Harvey added he found the doctor’s attitude 'bullying and overbearing' and that they felt 'verbally abused'.
Chief nursing officer Lindsey Webb said Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust would be meeting the family to look into Miss Harvey’s care.
She said: 'We are very sorry to learn of Mr Harvey’s concerns as we take the wishes of patients, their families and carers very seriously.
Hospital: Vickie Harvey died of Leukaemia at the Worcester Royal Hospital in December, just weeks after being told how she would soon die
'We have spoken with Mr Harvey and agreed to meet with him so that we can look into the care that his daughter received and answer any questions or concerns that he has.'
Worcestershire Royal Hospital today confirmed managers had 'spoken' to Dr Clark about Mr and Mrs Harvey's allegations.
A spokeswoman said: 'Dr Clark is aware of the allegations and has been spoken to about them. We will not be releasing any more information at this time.'
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