NHS criticised for way it treated bipolar GP

THE NHS has been criticised for suspending a GP with bipolar disorder by a coroner who said it had “lost sight she was a human being”.

Dr Wendy Potts was suspended by her surgery after a patient read her blog about her mental health condition and complained about her fitness to work. Weeks later, Dr Potts, 46, who had two children, was found hanged at her home after asking her boyfriend: “How can I have been so stupid?”

James Newman, Derbyshire’s assistant coroner, gave a conclusion that Dr Potts committed suicide on Nov 24 2015. He criticised the way the matter was handled and the manner in which the NHS deals with doctors suffering mental health issues, saying: “It seems to me the suspension and investigation was something of a sledgehammer being used to crack a nut.”

At Chesterfield Coroners’ Court he said no one should forget that GPS are “doing an incredible job in very difficult circumstances”.

“The investigation process lost sight that Dr Potts was a human being,” Mr Newman said, adding: “It seems it’s not an isolated case.”