TO MOST of us, the doctor's word is law. Whatever he or she says, we accept. A diagnosis can be traumatic and we put our lives in the hands of the medical experts, accepting the treatment and advice.

Most of the time, that is right because doctors are professional, caring people. Sometimes, though, they make mistakes and Gail Hepworth reckons they should be taken to task to minimise the risk of those mistakes being repeated.

Gail is a fighter. She is a cancer patient who was told she was going to die. She refused to accept the verdict, went off to the United States for pioneering treatment and is enjoying a new lease of life.

In the same defiant way, she decided not to let it rest when she was prescribed a drug she was convinced was inappropriate. She claimed, in fact, that the drug even caused health problems not related to her cancer.

Gail protested and finally, after a long battle, she has been given a written apology by York Health Services Trust. In the letter from York District Hospital, general manager Colin Watts offers the trust's apologies because the drug had not been prescribed to the recommended guidelines.

Gail Hepworth is a formidable and an intelligent woman who decided to double check her medication. She advises other patients to always read the leaflets when they are prescribed drugs.

Doctors are a dedicated lot, mostly doing a superb job under difficult circumstances. Yet their mistakes can have dire consequences and patients should ask questions if they suspect an error has been made.

In Gail's case the health trust now admits her doctor erred. But that error only came to light because of her defiance and persistence.