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An inquest has heard that a young graduate who died of a blood clot caused by her contraceptive pill was not taken seriously by her GP who advised she go for a “spa day”.

In August 2015, Charlotte was given a three month prescription for Dianette – a contraceptive pill that Charlotte hoped would combat her acne – despite having advised the doctor who prescribed it of a family history of pulmonary embolism. She saw a new GP in October 2015 – Dr Sunil Simon – who found no reason against continuing Charlotte’s prescription for Dianette, which is now only offered as a treatment for severe acne if other options have been exhausted. In rare cases the contraceptive pill can lead to serious circulation problems, and the inquest revealed that Charlotte underwent tests which demonstrated that she would be at high risk of having a blood clot if she took Dianette.

Charlotte Foster visited Dr Simon on 4 January 2016 with complaints of back pain, pain in her right leg, a tightness of her chest and an inability to take a deep breath. However, according to Charlotte’s mother, Cecilia Foster, “He did not seem to listen to her. He told her that her problem was mechanical and that she should go for a massage or a spa day.” Charlotte had also discussed her symptoms during a telephone consultation the previous month. Charlotte, who was described as a normally fit and healthy woman, collapsed at her place of work on January 22nd and died three days later at the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford. The cause of her death was a massive embolism in her lungs, thought to have been caused by deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in her legs or pelvis.

Dr Simon was found to have missed two vital opportunities to save Miss Foster’s life and was referred to the General Medical Council (GMC) by Shropshire coroner John Ellery after the inquest into Charlotte’s death.

Charlotte’s GP has now been issued a formal warning. The GMC has said that Dr Simon failed to consider a link between Charlotte’s “symptoms and the contraceptive medication.”

Furthermore, coroner John Ellery concluded in July 2016 that it was more likely than not that Charlotte would have survived had the prescription of Dianette been stopped and treatment issued when she saw her GP about the symptoms she experienced.

The formal warning issued to the GP said that both in a telephone consultation on 24 December 2015, and during Charlotte’s appointment on 4 January 2016, he failed to obtain an adequate medical history and “consider deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolus as differential diagnoses.” Moreover, the warning said that he did not “arrange investigations to eliminate/confirm deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolus” and propose an adequate treatment plan for Charlotte including stopping her prescription of the contraceptive medication.

The ruling, published on the GMC website says “This conduct does not meet with the standards required of a doctor. It risks bringing the profession into disrepute and it must not be repeated.” The warning will be published on the List of Registered Medical Practitioners for five years and disclosed to any person enquiring about his “fitness to practice” history.

Divya Anand, Clinical Negligence Solicitor at Duncan Lewis states the following:

“It is unfortunate that the GP failed to consider Miss Foster had deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism despite her family history. All too often we hear of cases where patients repeatedly attend their GP surgery with symptoms which are continually ignored. In this particular case, it was too late before the GP realised his errors. We welcome the GMC ruling and hope these mistakes are not repeated by other treating clinicians.”

Duncan Lewis Clinical Negligence Solicitors

If you have been misdiagnosed, or your doctor failed to make a diagnosis, Duncan Lewis Clinical Negligence Solicitors may be able to help you make a claim. The Duncan Lewis Clinical Negligence team has significant experience acting in a vast array of claims including accident and emergency failures, GP negligence claims, misdiagnosed fractures and other medical conditions and wrongful death claims. They also act for children and adults who have suffered profound and permanent brain, spinal or neurological injuries and associated disabilities as a consequence of failings in medical care in both NHS and private hospitals.

If you believe your doctor has made a mistake and wish to claim compensation or have any questions about treatment you have received, please do not hesitate to contact our team of specialist clinical negligence solicitors on 0333 772 0409.