An Angus mother wept as she recounted harrowing details of her 17-year-old daughter’s death from an undiagnosed diabetes attack.
Helen Taylor was giving evidence to the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service in Manchester as the disciplinary hearing into the conduct of former Kirriemuir GP Michelle Watts continued.
Mrs Taylor told how her daughter Claire died holding her hand and claimed she was “laughed off” by Watts as she urged the doctor to admit the dying youngster to hospital.
She said she suspected Claire was seriously ill with diabetes but the GP ignored her concerns, patted her arm and put the school prefect’s illness down to “panic breathing”.
Despite the teenager showing evidence of having a lethal form of the condition known as diabetic keto-acidosis, it is claimed Watts, 47, failed to examine Claire properly during a home visit then left the house suggesting she take a course of sleeping tablets.
Later that night Claire’s condition worsened and she died in bed in Kirriemuir as her mother was sleeping in a chair beside her.
It was subsequently discovered the teenager who had a history of diabetes in the family was in fact suffering from Type 1 diabetes.
At the disciplinary hearing in Manchester Mrs Taylor, 55, wept as she gave harrowing details of her daughter’s last hours. She said: “Dr Watts took Claire’s pulse, listened to her chest and I told her that my daughter wanted to go to hospital to get oxygen but she laughed, or laughed it off.
“She didn’t examine my daughter, she didn’t pull back the covers to feel her tummy or neck. She just said that my daughter was panicking and she would need some diazepam to calm her down. Dr Watts knew my concerns about diabetes but didn’t mention it. I had been offered the community doctor to this day I wonder who that would’ve been.”
Claire, a talented dancer and baker, had wanted a career as a dietitian as her older brother Andrew had Type 1 diabetes. The tragedy occurred in 2012, two months after she began to feel unwell with what appeared to be a mysterious viral infection.
Mrs Taylor took her daughter to see four doctors but when the teenager lost 10lb in 10 days, she sought a second opinion and booked an appointment to see Watts on November 6 at Kirriemuir Health Centre.
Ahead of the consultation she tried to test her daughter for diabetes at home but the equipment had failed.
Mrs Taylor told the tribunal: “I had already spoken with a friend and we said ‘I wonder if Claire’s diabetic, she’s lost so much weight’.
“She was lethargic and that’s when the diabetes came into my head.
“My mother had diabetes and so did my son.
“When it was time for the appointment, I said to my daughter ‘get your shoes on’ but she was too tired to do it.
“I remember holding her and escorting her up the path. At the surgery, I explained that I tried to test Claire for diabetes but Dr Watts listened to her chest and said she was panic breathing.
“She took her hands and told her to breathe with her in and out and said ‘there that’s better’ and then suggested we went home to look up mindfulness techniques to stop the anxiety. She said her blood tests were normal and she had quite a significant virus infection.
“The impression I got is that I was barking up the wrong tree. I assumed that if it’d been diabetes Dr Watts would have tested for it there and then.”
Watts admits failings over Claire’s treatment but denies allegations she was dishonest in keeping medical records.
The hearing continues.