Pill death: Newport woman's family backs referral of GP in tragic case to the GMC
The family of a young Newport woman who died after taking the contraceptive pill has welcomed news that Shropshire's senior coroner has referred the GP involved to the General Medical Council.
Charlotte Foster, 23, of Trinity Mews, died on January 25 from a blood clot caused by taking the oral contraceptive pill Dianette.
Following an inquest held in July, coroner for Shropshire Telford & Wrekin John Ellery referred the case to the GMC. But now he has gone one step further and referred Dr Sunil Simon, the doctor who prescribed the pill, to the GMC as well.
Mr Ellery announced at the conclusion of the inquest on July 28 that due to the areas of concern raised during the hearing he would receive further submissions from interested parties to determine whether any further action was needed in relation to Dr Simon.
The family welcomed the coroner's decision. In a joint statement they said: "Nothing can ever bring our beautiful Charlotte back to us but we hope that this referral by the coroner will ensure that lessons are learned from her death and that it may spare another family from going through the same agony."
Medical negligence specialist Suzanne White, from the law firm Leigh Day, the lawyer representing the family at the inquest, said: "We are pleased that the coroner had decided to personally refer Dr Simon to the GMC in the hope that a thorough investigation can be undertaken and the mistakes made in Charlotte's case are never repeated."
Miss Foster was displaying symptoms of a pulmonary embolism when she visited Dr Simon at Wellington Road Surgery, Newport, on January 4.
She was suffering from difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, chest pain and lower back pain, which Dr Simon said was "muscular in origin" and recommended that she "get a massage" or have a spa day.
She later collapsed at work and was admitted to the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford on January 22 where she died three days later.
