A GP has been rapped for his patient’s delayed and ultimately fatal cancer diagnosis after he decided her ongoing rectal bleeding was due to haemorrhoids or IBS.

He also believed the patient, aged in her 30s, was too young to be at high risk of malignancy, according to New Zealand Health and Disability Deputy Commissioner..

The woman had a complex medical history, including severe asthma with a history of steroid dependence, venous blood clots, hidradenitis suppurativa and osteoporosis.

In October 2015, a rheumatologist flagged to the GP’s practice that she also was iron deficient and should be referred for upper and lower GI endoscopy if there were no good explanations for her anaemia and recent 35kg weight loss.