A Central Queensland woman diagnosed with cancer requiring urgent treatment was put on a waiting list at the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital and not offered help until after she died. Lynette Williams, 46, of Rubyvale in Central Queensland, died on June 29, a month after her Emerald-based GP told her that tests revealed she had suspected cancer and needed urgent treatment in Brisbane.

Mrs Williams's husband Russell said yesterday the GP made an appointment for her at RBWH on May 31 and she took the scans and medical reports to that meeting. Mr Williams said the doctor at RBWH rang the hospital's cancer unit and was told to book her in for a liver biopsy. "We never got to see the cancer specialists at the Royal. I kept ringing every day to find out when they were going to do the test. They said 'you would get a letter'," Mr Williams said.

The RBWH also put Mrs Williams on a waiting list for an endoscopy and sent her a letter on June 16 scheduling the procedure for July 16 - two weeks after her death. Mr Williams said the hospital eventually contacted him two days after his wife's death to arrange a time for the liver biopsy.

Mr Williams said he wanted to know why doctors at Queensland's largest hospital did not provide urgent care or offer any assistance with pain management. A spokeswoman for RBWH confirmed that Mrs Williams had been referred to the hospital and "scans indicated that when Mrs Williams presented to the RBWH she had progressive secondary cancer". A communication breakdown led to a delay in the biopsy being performed. The hospital apologises to the family for this delay and has offered to meet with the Williams family to discuss the issue."

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