A University of York graduate who died from cancer has inspired a new “lifesaving” GP rule.
Jessica Brady died in 2020 after attempting to make repeated appointments with her GP, but her illness being missed.
GPs will now implement a “three strikes and rethink” rule for patients who return at least three times with the same problem.
Jessica Brady, an engineer at Airbus from Stevenage, had visited her GP surgery over 20 times in a six-month period. Her symptoms included abdominal pain, coughing, vomiting and weight loss. Due to Covid restrictions, she was offered only virtual appointments. Her GP prescribed her several medications, including antibiotics and steroids.
Jessica was told her symptoms were likely the effects of long Covid, and that she was too young to suffer from anything serious.
After her mother paid to see a doctor privately, Jessica was diagnosed with adenocarcinoma, a terminal cancer of the glands that line the organs. It had spread throughout her body by the time she was finally seen to. The private doctor placed Jessica on oxygen, and she died three weeks later.
Under the new “three strikes and rethink” rule, GP surgeries will be encouraged to think again if patients return with the same problems, especially if no substantial diagnosis has been made, or symptoms worsen. Doctors will also be encouraged to consider a second opinion, see patients face-to-face more frequently, and carry out more tests, making specialist referrals where appropriate.
The Department of Health and Social Care expressed the importance of this new rule. Secretary Wes Streeting said: “Jessica Brady’s death was a preventable and unnecessary tragedy.
“Jess’s Rule will make sure every patient receives the thorough, compassionate and safe care that they deserve”.
Jessica’s mother, Andrea, told Radio 4 that Jess was a healthy young woman when the pandemic hit in 2020, but by July she didn’t feel right. She said: “She had unintentionally lost quite a lot of weight, had night sweats, chronic fatigue, a persistent cough and very enlarged lymph nodes.
“But because of her age, it was obviously considered there wasn’t anything wrong.”
The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) was involved in establishing this new rule. They stressed that no doctor wanted to miss signs of serious illness, such as cancer. Chair of RCGP, Prof Kamila Hawthorne said such illness is “challenging to identify in primary care because the symptoms are often similar to other, less serious and more common conditions.” The RCGP worked beside Jessica Brady’s family to develop educational resources about early signs and diagnosis of cancer in young adults.
Jessica’s mother felt the need to continue her daughter’s efforts to change the way GP’s act upon symptoms. She told Radio 4: “(Jess) wanted to make a difference.
“Jess knew her delayed diagnosis was instrumental in the fact she had no treatment options open to her, only palliative care.
“She felt strongly she didn’t want this to happen to other people.”
The Jessica Brady Cedar Trust charity has a mission “to support earlier diagnosis of cancer by improving awareness amongst medical professionals, in GP surgeries, through training and research.” This charity aims to support Jess’s legacy through raising awareness and changing outcomes for others.
If you would like to donate to the Jessica Brady Cedar Trust, please visit their website.
If you feel you need support in any way please visit your GP, York student support services, or contact charities such as Mind on 0300 102 1234.
