{"id":445074,"date":"2026-02-25T16:24:16","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T16:24:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/445074\/"},"modified":"2026-02-25T16:24:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T16:24:16","slug":"former-newcastle-general-hospital-nurse-fears-cancer-is-due-to-asbestos-exposure-on-way-to-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/445074\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Newcastle General Hospital nurse fears cancer is due to asbestos exposure on way to work"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Margaret Lee has developed mesothelioma &#8211; a cancer related to asbestos exposure.<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Mrs Margaret Lee - known as Peggie - worked at Newcastle General Hospital between 1967 and 1971 under her maiden name Iveson.\" loading=\"eager\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/0_SVR-NEC-240226-mrs-lee.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p aria-label=\"Mrs Margaret Lee - known as Peggie - worked at Newcastle General Hospital between 1967 and 1971 under her maiden name Iveson.\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-title__ccyQU\" data-testid=\"caption-title\">Mrs Margaret Lee &#8211; known as Peggie &#8211; worked at Newcastle General Hospital between 1967 and 1971 under her maiden name Iveson.(Image: Handout)<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">A former Newcastle General Hospital nurse believes she may have been exposed to asbestos in her time working on the Westgate Road. Margaret Lee &#8211; sometimes known as Peggie &#8211; worked at the hospital between 1967 and 1971 under her maiden name, Iveson.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">The woman, who now lives in North Wales but is from <a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.chroniclelive.co.uk\/all-about\/county-durham\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_self\">Durham<\/a>, was given a devastating mesothelioma diagnosis last December. The cancer has no cure and is connected with asbestos exposure.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Mrs Lee has now instructed solicitors from the firm Hugh James to pursue a legal claim. The firm is looking to speak with anyone who may have worked with Mrs Lee at that time, or who may have knowledge of &#8220;working conditions, the underground tunnels and \/ or potential asbestos exposure during Mrs Lee\u2019s employment&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Our ChronicleLive Daily newsletter is free. You can <a aria-label=\"[object Object]Link opens in a new tab.\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.chroniclelive.co.uk\/newsletter-preference-centre\/?view=Solus&amp;mailingListId=d86974e2-8095-4ca7-b706-79c5ef9c4c60&amp;utm_source=solusarticle\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_blank\">sign up to receive it here<\/a>. It will keep you up to date with all the latest breaking news and top stories from the North East.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">The firm has explained how Mrs Lee recalls living in the nurses&#8217; housing opposite the hospital and passing through an underground tunnel where she recalls asbestos was discovered on her way to work.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Emma Newman, asbestos claims lawyer at Hugh James said: \u201cWe are hoping to help Mrs Lee by locating others who worked at the old Newcastle General Hospital, Westgate Road during the same period.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">&#8220;If you worked with Mrs Lee (Margaret &#8216;Peggie&#8217; Iveson) at any point during her career at old Newcastle General Hospital or have any information relating to asbestos exposure there, Mrs Lee and her family would greatly appreciate your assistance. Even small details could prove crucial in understanding how she was exposed and in holding those responsible to account.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">The Department of Health and Social Care has been approached for comment. Emma Newman at Hugh James can be contacted by calling 0161 388 6487 or emailing <a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.chroniclelive.co.uk\/news\/north-east-news\/mailto:Emma.Newman@hughjames.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"\">Emma.Newman@hughjames.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Did you know you can make ChronicleLive a preferred source of North East news in Google, which will mean you get more of our breaking news, exclusives, and must-read stories straight away?<a aria-label=\" Here&#039;s more informationLink opens in a new tab.\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.chroniclelive.co.uk\/news\/north-east-news\/how-make-chronicle-your-preferred-33406231\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_blank\"> Here&#8217;s more information<\/a> about what this means and how to do it &#8211; you can also do it straight away by<a aria-label=\" clicking hereLink opens in a new tab.\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=chroniclelive.co.uk\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_blank\"> clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Margaret Lee has developed mesothelioma &#8211; a cancer related to asbestos exposure. Mrs Margaret Lee &#8211; known as&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":445075,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[5916,59,102,3750,7121,104,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-445074","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-county-durham","tag-gb","tag-health","tag-newcastle-city-centre","tag-newcastle-upon-tyne","tag-nhs","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445074","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=445074"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445074\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/445075"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=445074"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=445074"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=445074"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}