Family grieving over Emily Chesterton whose 'death has left a massive hole in our lives that nothing can fill'
Emily Chesterton, 30, was misdiagnosed on two previous occasions after seeing a Physician Associate (PA).
The family of Emily Chesterton, 30, who died of a pulmonary embolism after she was misdiagnosed on two previous occasions after seeing a Physician Associate (PA), have called the Independent review of the physician associate and anaesthesia associate roles: final report, carried out by Professor Gillian Leng CBE, as a “missed opportunity.”
Emily Chesterton’s father Brendan Chesterton told Sky News that "If she came out and said I've seen someone called the physician's associate I'm sure we would have insisted that, you know, let's go back and insist that you see a doctor. She never knew."
In the report by Professor Gillian Leng CBE, it says that “Research on safety and effectiveness of PAs and AAs was limited, generally of low quality and either inconclusive or demonstrated a mixed picture. Studies showed little attempt to compare or account for variation in case mix, supervision arrangements or patient outcomes. Interpretation of the findings was therefore challenging and had to be contextualised within wider perspectives and informed by judgement.”
In response to the report by Professor Leng, Marion Chesterman, Emily’s mother told Sky News that “We feel it’s a missed opportunity. It could have gone all the way there and cleared things up totally. Our daughter died. She was prescribed a drug that she should not have been prescribed. And it had absolutely catastrophic circumstances. She died for goodness sake.”
The family of Emily Chesterton set up a GoFundMe page following her death at the age of 30 in November 2022, the page was set up to raise money for charities Mind and Headstrong. The GoFundMe page reads: “My name is Brendan Chesterton and I am the father of Emily Chesterton who passed away on 8th November 2022. Emily was 30 years old when she died of a pulmonary embolism after being misdiagnosed on two occasions when she visited her local GP practice in Crouch End.”
“Emily had been under the impression that she was seeing a doctor when she had in fact been seeing a Physicians Associate (PA) The PA failed on both occasions to spot Emily’s leg pain was in fact a blood clot which ultimately travelled to her lungs and instead prescribed her medication for anxiety.”
The GoFundMe page goes on to say that “Nothing can replace our beautiful, kind, empathic, sensitive, loving and talented daughter. Her death has left a massive hole in our lives that nothing can fill. All we can hope for is that by raising awareness of the use of PAs in the NHS and supporting charities we can honour her memory and prevent it from happening to others.”