Sian Hollands: Mother's fury at doctor's 'nothing' penalty

Nicola Smith said the doctor's suspension was "nothing"

The mother of a woman who died after a doctor failed to carry out proper checks on her says he has been let off lightly.

Dr Kamran Khan has been suspended for a month after failing to spot how serious Sian Hollands' condition was.

A disciplinary hearing was told he mistook her chest pains and shortness of breath for drug withdrawal symptoms.

Ms Hollands, 25, died in November 2015 in a Kent hospital from a clot in her lungs after suffering cardiac arrest.

The Medical Practitioners Tribunal found Dr Khan's actions "breached a number of the principles of good medical practice" but settled on a one-month suspension after hearing he had learned from his errors and was unlikely to repeat them.

However, Ms Hollands' mother, Nicola Smith, who took her daughter's case to the General Medical Council, is unhappy with the sanction.

She said: "We get a lifetime of punishment for having no Sian around. The children have no mum and he gets a 28-day suspension, which is nothing."

Sian Hollands was the mother of three children

Ms Hollands, who took methadone to treat her drug addiction, was admitted to Darent Valley Hospital in Dartford on 15 November 2015, in severe pain.

Three weeks earlier she had suffered an ectopic pregnancy.

The hearing decided Dr Khan had failed to take an adequate history of Ms Hollands' medical history and failed to consider specific information passed on by two nurses in respect of her chest pain, rapid heartbeat and shortness of breath.

Documents released after the hearing said: "Dr Khan formed the impression that her signs and symptoms were due to methadone withdrawal."

It concluded a one month suspension was "sufficient" to "ensure the public is not deprived of the services of a good doctor for any longer than is necessary".

Kent Police launched an investigation into whether to bring charges of manslaughter through gross negligence but none was brought.

The inquest into Ms Hollands' death found "failures of the doctors... to examine, diagnose and treat her pulmonary embolism", adding: "Had they done so, on the balance of probability, she would not have died."

Dartford and Gravesham NHS Tust said in a statement it extended its sympathy to Ms Hollands' family.

Ms Hollands' three children are now brought up by their grandmother

The doctor at Darent Valley Hospital admitted not reading Ms Hollands' notes