Published: 14:05 BST, 21 August 2026 | Updated: 14:11 BST, 21 August 2026
Health watchdogs have warned GPs to pay careful attention to patients' weight loss – after a doctor missed a patient's lethal pancreatic cancer, which killed them within weeks.
A family doctor based in the Highlands failed to recognise and escalate the 'red flag' symptom in a patient, which led to an 'unreasonable delay' in diagnosis, according to a new report.
Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest forms of the disease, killing around three-quarters of those diagnosed within a year.
It is typically diagnosed at a late stage, when treatment is less effective, because it causes few vague symptoms early on.
Health officials say doctors cannot afford to ignore early potential warning signs, including unexplained weight loss, fatigue, nausea and abdominal pain.
Now, the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) has released the results of an investigation into the misdiagnosis of one patient.
The unnamed patient was diagnosed with diabetes after experiencing significant unexplained weight loss.
They were prescribed medication for the condition, but continued to suffer symptoms including weight loss.
The once daily pill was shown to double the life expectancy of pancreatic cancer patients, with experts hailing the drug as 'landscape changing'
After months of suffering, they asked their doctor if they could have pancreatic cancer.
Eventually, the patient was referred to gastroenterology specialists, before blood tests confirmed pancreatic cancer. They died just six weeks later.
The investigation found that 'red flag symptoms of pancreatic cancer' had been present from the patient's first contact with the practice.
'From this point until the urgent suspicion of cancer referral, there were missed opportunities to recognise the significance of A's symptoms and refer them onward for further investigation,' the SPSO reported.
The unnamed medical practice has been ordered to apologise to the patient's family for an 'unreasonable delay in recognising specific symptoms' indicative of cancer, which led to inadequate end-of-life care.
