A doctor is facing disciplinary action after telling a patient, who had developed a fatal blood clot after taking a contraceptive pill, to go on a spa holiday.
An inquest heard Charlotte Foster, 23, would have survived if Dr Sunil Idicula Simon had not missed her symptoms, which included back pain, on January 4 – three weeks before her death.
Ms Foster went into cardiac arrest when she collapsed at work, and three days later she died at Newport’s Princess Royal Hospital after suffering brain damage.
Simon prescribed her the contraceptive pill Dianette, which led to the fatal blood clot.
An inquest revealed Miss Foster, from Newport, Shropshire, had undergone tests that indicated she would be high-risk if prescribed the drug.
She died five months after she started taking Dianette, which carries double the risk of blood clots.
Her parents Stephen, 55, and Cecilia, 60, released a statement.
They said: ‘We are devastated at the sudden and unexpected loss of a very much loved daughter, sister, and granddaughter.
‘Charlotte was a lively, intelligent, beautiful, and caring young lady who will be deeply missed by her family, friends and work colleagues.
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Simon will appear before a General Medical Council (GMC) investigation in Manchester, on June 2, where they will consider giving him a warning after he refused to accept one.
He is accused of failing to obtain an adequate history or consider the possibility of a pulmonary embolism (PE) or deep vein thrombosis (DVT) from Miss Foster.
A statement said Simon did not arrange appropriate investigations after a telephone consultation on December 24, 2105, and a second consultation on January 4 last year.
He is also accused of failing to consider stopping the prescription of Dianette, recording an adequate history, or making considerations of DVT or PE.
