A woman died of cancer in a Welsh NHS hospital after an urgent care referral letter was left in a hospital pigeonhole for a month, an inquest heard.

The inquest heard the letter from the speech and language therapists, for patient Maria Shafighian, 59, went unread for an entire month after it was missed by staff at the ear, nose and throat (ENT) department.

Mrs Shafighian, of Risca, South Wales, died less than six months after being diagnosed with throat cancer.

Senior Gwent coroner Caroline Saunders ordered a prevention of future deaths report to the health board following the inquest in April.

The inquest found Mrs Shafighian died of natural causes after “opportunities missed to identify and treat Maria’s tumour earlier”.

She was first diagnosed with vocal cord palsy after suffering persistent hoarseness. Her condition worsened when she began to have problems swallowing – and a request was made for an urgent assessment.