NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / World

Woman dies from 'untreated side-effects' of taking the contraceptive pill

Daily Telegraph UK
28 Jul, 2016 09:34 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Charlotte Foster, 23, suffered a cardiac arrest at work and brain damage five months after starting to take the contraceptive pill. Photo / Charlotte Foster Facebook

Charlotte Foster, 23, suffered a cardiac arrest at work and brain damage five months after starting to take the contraceptive pill. Photo / Charlotte Foster Facebook

A business studies graduate died from the "untreated side-effects" of taking the contraceptive pill three weeks after attending her GP's surgery with symptoms of a blood clot on her lungs, a coroner has ruled.

An inquest heard that Charlotte Foster, 23, was told she had a back problem and advised to "go for a massage or a spa day" by Dr Sunil Simon.

Miss Foster, from Newport, Shropshire, was seen by Dr Simon at his practice in the town on January 4 this year after complaining to friends and family of breathing difficulties and leg pain.

The inquest heard last week that she collapsed from a "massive" pulmonary embolism at her workplace on January 22 and died at Telford's Princess Royal Hospital three days later.

The hearing in Shrewsbury was told Miss Foster's "only risk factor" was that she had been taking a combined oral contraceptive pill, Dianette, for around five months before her death.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Her mother, Cecilia, told the inquest her daughter had suffered from heart palpitations and messaged her family on New Year's Eve to say her ribs hurt and she could not lie down or breathe properly.

Giving evidence to Shropshire Coroner John Ellery last week, Mrs Foster said her daughter complained to Dr Simon of back pain, pain in her right leg, tightness of her chest and being unable to take a deep breath.

Recording findings of fact and a narrative conclusion, Mr Ellery ruled that Miss Foster died from the untreated side-effects of Dianette.
In his ruling, he said: "By the 4th of January 2016, on the evidence of family and friends and Charlotte's own texts, Charlotte's condition was increasingly poor and had been for some time fluctuating in severity.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"I accept the evidence of the family and friends and as a fact accept that Charlotte presented on January 4th as Mrs Foster described."

The coroner added that the inquest had raised "areas of concern" which had been drawn to the attention of interested parties to the inquest, and said he was reviewing whether to make a referral to the General Medical Council.

Mrs Foster told the inquest last that Dr Simon did not seem to listen to her daughter and told her she had "mechanical" back pain.

The witness also said she was not aware that the pill being taken by her daughter posed a higher risk of pulmonary embolism than other types.

Discover more

Lifestyle

Why are millennials having less sex?

08 Jul 01:50 AM
Lifestyle

Revealed: More Kiwi blokes get 'the snip'

27 Oct 11:56 PM

In a statement issued after the coroner's ruling, the family - who are considering a legal action against the GP - described Miss Foster's death as a nightmare.

The family statement read: "We welcome the findings of the coroner.

"We hope that more people and medical professionals become aware of the potential risks, however rare, of taking this medication so that no other family have to live through this nightmare.

"Charlotte was much loved by all who knew her, she had her whole life ahead of her and we are devastated by her death.

"We remain a close and loving family who will always remember the happiness she gave to us during her lifetime."

In his evidence to the hearing, Dr Simon said he had "no concerns" on January 4 that Miss Foster had been suffering from a pulmonary embolism.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

He told the coroner: "When I observed Miss Foster during that day I did not note any signs of respiratory distress or shortness of breath. She did not display any signs of a pulmonary embolism of a deep vein thrombosis."

Miss Foster, who graduated from the University of Liverpool in 2014, was described at the hearing as a normally fit and healthy woman.

She was given a three-month prescription of Dianette as a contraceptive and to combat acne in August last year, having advised a doctor of a family history of pulmonary embolism and breast cancer.

She then returned to see another GP in October last year, and was given a continuing prescription for Dianette, which is now only offered as a treatment for severe acne after other treatments have failed.

The inquest heard that there has been an awareness of a rare but heightened risk of blood clots linked to contraceptive pills since the 1970s.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from World

Premium
World

How Trump shifted on Iran under pressure from Israel

18 Jun 01:59 AM
Premium
World

Nature's role: Studies show green spaces help in reducing loneliness

18 Jun 01:56 AM
Airlines

Israel to begin bringing back citizens stranded abroad

18 Jun 01:39 AM

Jono and Ben brew up a tea-fuelled adventure in Sri Lanka

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from World

Premium
How Trump shifted on Iran under pressure from Israel

How Trump shifted on Iran under pressure from Israel

18 Jun 01:59 AM

New York Times: How Netanyahu's bold move tested Trump's resolve on Iran.

Premium
Nature's role: Studies show green spaces help in reducing loneliness

Nature's role: Studies show green spaces help in reducing loneliness

18 Jun 01:56 AM
 Israel to begin bringing back citizens stranded abroad

Israel to begin bringing back citizens stranded abroad

18 Jun 01:39 AM
'Long overdue': Kraft Heinz to remove dyes by 2027 amid health concerns

'Long overdue': Kraft Heinz to remove dyes by 2027 amid health concerns

18 Jun 01:00 AM
Help for those helping hardest-hit
sponsored

Help for those helping hardest-hit

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP