The failure of the general practitioner contributed to the death by vitamin D of a woman from Guiseley

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SWNS

The negligence of a general practitioner contributed to the death of a woman who had been wrongly prescribed too much vitamin D, ruled a coroner.

Eileen Cowles, 86, who died in 2015, took her monthly dose of vitamin D tablet, colicalciferol, every day.

Wakefield Coroner Jonathan Leach said General Claire Wiles had not done the basic checks on Miss Cowles' prescription.

He said the failure was "negligence" on the part of Dr. Wiles.

The investigation revealed that Miss Cowles had started taking a low dose of colicalciferol twice a month to help her strengthen her bones after a hip fracture in September 2014.

But when she was transferred to the Primrose Court Care Center in Guiseley the following month, Dr. Wiles, of Park Row Medical Center, reportedly told her staff to say that Miss Cowles needed to "take two" tablets. , without specifying its frequency.

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Dr. Wiles, who had been a general practitioner for only a year at the time, also told the care center and the pharmacy in charge of the prescription that repeated prescription was correct.

As a result of this error, Miss Cowles was found with hypercalcemia, a condition caused by the presence of too much calcium in the blood, and died in the hospital.

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Writing down a narrative conclusion, Mr. Leach said, "These failures were collectively referred to as a flagrant failure that resulted in the death of the deceased."

Outside the Wakefield Coroners Court, Christine Bull, 68, daughter of Miss Cowles, said she was relieved to see that those who cared for her mother "had to explain themselves".

"Our mother died because five repeated prescriptions were wrong," she said.

"We hope people will take note of it, especially because she died of an overdose of vitamin D – always check your prescriptions and those of your family."