A woman who was prescribed the combined contraceptive pill collapsed and died five months later.

An inquest into the death of Charlotte Foster heard that she had reported breathing difficulties to her GP three weeks before her death. The 23-year-old went into cardiac arrest and collapsed at her workplace when a deep vein thrombosis caused a pulmonary embolism in her leg. According to The Guardian, Miss Foster passed away on January 25th,  three days after arriving in hospital. Consultant anaesthetist at the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford, Dr Nigel Tuft, said that Miss Foster did not have any tumours that could have caused the embolism. Tuft said:

"The most likely site for the pulmonary embolism to arise is in the veins of the pelvis and the upper leg. These can cause no symptoms whatsoever or they can cause symptoms or deep vein thrombosis".

The consultant went on to say that he had lengthy discussions with Miss Foster's family after her death and found that the only risk factor leading up to her death was the combined contraceptive pill. Miss Foster had been prescribed a three-month prescription of Dianette in August 2015, as a contraceptive and to help target acne. She returned in October and saw a different GP, obtaining a repeat prescription after reporting no side effects. However, in January, she returned to the surgery and explained that she had pain in her lower back, which had travelled down towards her knee. The BBC reports that at the inquest, Miss Foster's mother said that when Charlotte described her leg pain in January, the GP had thought the problem was 'mechanical' and recommended a massage.