A terminally ill cancer patient has spoken out over changes to a hospital chemotherapy unit after she claims sensitive discussions related to her treatment were held in a busy corridor.

Deborah Payn, 61, said she was left feeling "very emotional" following a routine appointment at Darent Valley Hospital in Dartford.

The Joyden's Wood resident, who was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer in 2018, attended the Pine Therapy chemotherapy unit shortly after Christmas.

But on arrival she found large parts had been set aside for use as temporary Nightingale wards to deal with an anticipated rise in Covid patients following the emergence of the Omicron variant.

Mrs Payn said vulnerable patients arrived confused about where to go, and many were not aware of the changes.

She also described feeling "very emotional" after she says a consultation about her own treatment was held in a busy corridor with little to no privacy.

The mum-of-two said: "The personal thing for me and the really awful thing is having a consultation on a corridor with a lot of people walking in and out.

"The last time I went up there they found a room but that is after I was vocal. I don't know how many people were put in the same position as me.

"You can't have conversations of a life ending nature in a corridor."

Cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy at Darent Valley Hospital attend appointments at the Pine Therapy unit, which is located on site.

The suite has 16 treatment chairs, three day beds, and a complementary therapy room. It also has two gardens where patients and family can relax.

During the first 2020/21 Covid winter crisis, the therapy unit was moved at short notice more than 10 miles away to Queen Mary’s Hospital in Sidcup.

Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust, which runs services at Darent Valley Hospital, said the move had come at a "challenging time" and was designed to protect vulnerable patients whilst ensuring they continued to receive care.

The unit was later moved back to a different part of Darent Valley following discussions with patients and staff, and a separate entrance was created so those attending appointments did not have to go through the main hospital.

It is this second move which Mrs Payn claims was handled poorly, leading to disruption to care plans, long waits for test results and added stress and anxiety at an already difficult time. It was then she had her "corridor" consultation.

The former charity worker and teacher explained vulnerable people receiving care needed definitive assurances as to where they were going, what treatments they were receiving and who they were seeing.

"It was very emotional for me because I have a background in health and social care," Mrs Payn said. "I was thinking 'Christ what are they doing'?"

"End-of-life cancer care should be the very best that can be given and even in difficult circumstances dying people shouldn't be made to suffer either emotionally or physically."

And while thankful for the "fantastic nurses" who treated her and sympathetic of Covid-19 pressures, she feels management decisions were taken too hastily and without proper patient consultation.

"Dying people shouldn't be made to suffer either emotionally or physically..."

"The saving grace in all of this is the wonderful nursing staff," she said. "But the staff should not have been put in this position."

Mrs Payn says she now wants to see the unit back in its original location at Darent Valley.

She added: "I just hope they learn the lessons and they think about this particular unit and how to go forward properly."

Darent Valley chief nurse Siobhan Callanan apologised for any "extra stress" caused by the changes.

She said: "During this challenging time, we have had to make a number of temporary adjustments to our service locations to ensure we could keep our emergency and planned services running and keep our cancer patients as safe from infection as possible.

"This has included the relocation of Pine Therapy Unit to an area which was appropriately renovated and adapted for the needs of cancer patients.

"We have co-designed the relocation of Pine with two patients, who have made excellent suggestions on how to streamline the service.

"Unfortunately, as the changes were temporary and had to happen very quickly, some patients were not informed prior to arrival and had to be re-directed to the new area on arrival at the hospital by a dedicated team of staff.

"I am very sorry if this caused any extra stress to any of our patients."

She added: "All of our relocations have undergone a rigorous quality impact assessment led by myself and our medical director to ensure standards of care remain high.

"Consultations should not take place in corridors and I am not aware of this happening, though I do realise some of our consultation areas are more ‘open’ than we would wish them to be but every effort is made to maintain confidentiality.

"I am always more than happy to talk individually with any patients who are not satisfied with the services we provide as it is essential we continue to learn from their experiences so that we can continue to improve the care we provide.”