A TERMINALLY-ILL patient was treated in a "totally disgraceful" way at the Royal Bolton Hospital, an MP has told the House of Commons.

Stanley Collins, aged 71, of Tyldesley, died in August last year three days after being discharged from the hospital.

During his stay, he was left without painkillers and fresh water, and MPs were told in a debate about the NHS Redress Bill that he died "in pain and without dignity".

The Bill aims to make sure families of people treated by the NHS will have an investigation, apology and compensation when mistakes are made.

Mr Collins was first treated at the Royal Bolton Hospital in October, 2004, and was treated as both an inpatient and outpatient until his death.

He underwent treatments including biopsies, scans and X-rays but his cancer was only diagnosed a week before his death.

Worsley MP Barbara Keely, who raised Mr Collins' case in the House of Commons, said: "There seemed to the family to be signs of a serious illness.

"Mr Collins was in great pain, he was very ill for the last few months and he was anaemic, but hospital staff insisted, almost to the last, that his condition was neither serious not terminal."

The hospital has apologised to Mr Collins' family and has admitted they let the family down "in some ways".

Mr Collins' daughter, Dawn Smallman, aged 43, from Astley, said: "You cannot imagine the burden placed on us to get this medication order to relieve his pain. There were times when he was in agony.

"We were racing back to him with his medication, never knowing if you would be back in time or if he would die while you were out.

"I wish I could say that his death was peaceful, but it was not he died in pain with absolutely no dignity."

Ms Keely is now calling for the Royal Bolton Hospital to fully investigate and to issue a full apology to Mrs Smallman and her family .