'Sharon could be alive if doctor had seen her' - angry family want answers

A MOTHER who died unexpectedly from heart disease could still be alive today if her doctor had acted on advice received from a UK specialist eight months earlier, her family have said.

Sharon Lundon died on 25 October at the age of 42.

Her family have made an official complaint about the Medical Specialist Group's cardiologist, Dr Dean Patterson, to the General Medical Council, which confirmed in a letter the case merited further enquiries.

Their complaint centres around Dr Patterson's failure to see Mrs Lundon to change her medication, despite receiving a recommendation to do so eight months earlier from a Southampton General Hospital specialist.

In response to questions about the case, Medical Specialist Group said it could not discuss individual patients.

But it acknowledged the number of local cardiology patients had risen considerably and Dr Patterson's workload had grown as a result.

Clinical governance lead Dr Graham Beck added the group was looking to gain permission from Health and Social Services to bring in a permanent second cardiologist as a result.