Coroner slams NHS for 'using sledgehammer to crack a nut' when they suspended GP who blogged about battling bipolar disorder and then went on to kill herself

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A coroner has slammed the NHS for 'using a sledgehammer to crack a nut' when they suspended a GP who blogged about her bipolar disorder and later went on to kill herself.

Dr Wendy Potts, 46, from Chapel-en-le-Frith, Derbyshire, was found hanged at her home by her partner in November 2015. 

Weeks earlier, she had asked him 'How can I have been so stupid?' following her suspension from work, the inquest heard.

Dr Wendy Potts, 46, from Chapel-en-le-Frith, Derbyshire, took her own life in November 2015

Derbyshire's Assistant Coroner James Newman criticised the way the NHS handled the investigation into the mother-of-two's blog, saying that bosses 'lost sight that she was a human being'.

He said: 'It seems to me the suspension and investigation was something of a sledgehammer being used to crack a nut.'

The coroner added that he would be writing to her practice, NHS England and the General Medical Council to raise concerns about the way her case was handled. 

Dr Potts' partner Mark St John Jones told the inquest she had kept an online blog about her battle with bipolar disorder, a mental health condition marked by alternating periods of elation and depression.

On her blog, she wrote openly about her condition and the affect it had on her and her family's life, Chesterfield Coroners' Court heard. 

Mr Jones told the inquest that one of her patients had read the blog and complained to Dr Potts' surgery.

A coroner has slammed the NHS for 'using a sledgehammer to crack a nut' when they suspended her over her blog about her bipolar disorder

The GP was suspended from the practice, which was not named during the hearing, after the half-term break in October 2015.

The inquest heard how Dr Potts' mood dipped in the weeks before her death, with her medication increased after the suspension.  

Mr Jones said his partner had experienced other work-related stresses, including dealing with the death of a patient.

The court heard that Dr Potts' suspension had been lifted by the surgery prior to her death, but she did not return to the practice because other investigations had not yet finished. 

Speaking about her daughter's mental health, Dr Potts' mother Joan described how her daughter experienced a manic high in February 2014.

Dr Potts had asked her partner 'How can I have been so stupid?' following her suspension from work, the inquest heard 

She told the inquest: 'She was shouting, jumping on the settee and talking in rhyme. It was very strange - I've never seen anything like it before. We didn't see anything like it again.'

After the manic high, Dr Potts did not work for three months.

Mrs Potts said her daughter 'felt she had got more than she could cope with'.

The keen cyclist and climber had previously attempted to take her own life, the inquest heard. 

Consultant psychiatrist Dr David Walker said he was not aware of the suicide attempt, explaining: 'She chose not to tell me this had happened'.

The inquest also heard the well-liked GP was planning to start a new life with her family after her partner bought an isolated farm in Wales in May 2015.

Mrs Potts said: 'Wendy wrote in her blog that this was what she wanted. She wanted to get away from work.'

Mr Newman had adjourned an earlier hearing to obtain a report about Dr Potts' suspension from work.

He spoke of his concern over the way her case was handled after reading the relevant documents.

The coroner said: 'The investigation process lost sight that Dr Potts was a human being. 

'I will be writing to the practice, NHS England and the General Medical Council raising concerns about her situation. It seems it's not an isolated case.

'There's a concern these investigations are taking place on a day-to-day basis.

'There will be doctors who have mental health issues, but that shouldn't take away the fact they are doing an incredible job in very difficult circumstances.'

Concluding Dr Potts had taken her own life, Mr Newman added: 'I find that at the time of her death, Dr Potts was under significant pressure both in her private life and due to her significant responsibilities as a GP. This was on a background of her mental health.'

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