News Beat
Teenager died after being told to resume contraceptive pill
Áine Rose Hurst was admitted to Royal Bolton Hospital on Tuesday, March 11, where doctors discovered a blood clot which had caused “severe brain swelling”.
Kerry Hurst, Áine’s mum, said the 19-year-old had been on a night out on the Saturday (March 8) and complained of a headache the following morning.
Believing it to be a hangover, she told her to take paracetamol and drink water – but the headache continued to get worse.
On Tuesday morning, Áine collapsed and was rushed to the hospital, but was sadly declared dead two days later.
A statement from her family paid tribute to the “most beautiful, caring, funny and sensible girl”.
They said: “Áine adored her parents, her brother, her grandparents, her aunts, uncles, cousins, boyfriend and friends.
“She was the life and soul of every gathering and was often heard before she was seen as she had the loudest voice ever.
“She loved nothing more than a family get-together where she insisted on karaoke and a quiz where she was always the quiz master.
“This made her family laugh due to her struggling to pronounce most of the words in the questions.
“We would give anything to hear her ask one more question.
“Our family is distraught at losing her, life will never be the same for us without our girl.”
An inquest into her death concluded in Bolton Coroner’s Court on Thursday (November 27).
In a statement read by area coroner Peter Sigee, the family explained that Áine had been taking the combined contraceptive pill, Femodette, but was told to stop after a routine check in December 2024 had shown her blood pressure to be high.
But after an appointment with her GP the next month, Áine, of Somerville Square in Halliwell, was told to start taking the pill again.
The family said they were “deeply concerned” that the GP “didn’t take into consideration the recent history of high blood pressure” and want to know what measures are in place “to ensure this doesn’t happen again”.
Áine’s cause of death was given as cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, with the oral contraceptive pill as a “potential contributing factor”.
Dr Zeeshan Malik, a consultant in intensive care and anaesthesia at Royal Bolton Hospital, said that he “wasn’t satisfied that it was just the pill” and would have needed more tests to rule out alternatives.
Julian Evans, a consultant neurosurgeon at Salford Royal Hospital, said they had received a referral at 10.30am.
He said that due to Áine’s “fixed and dilated pupils”, it was “likely irreversible and significant brain damage, and usually – sadly, a terminal event”.
He said that by the time they had received the referral, there was nothing they could have done surgically to save her.
Emma Walker, a nurse for the Bolton GP Federation, met Áine for a routine review on December 18, 2024.
She said her blood pressure was elevated – at 140/93 – “which was unusual” and she asked her if she felt nervous.
Ms Walker said: “She said she felt fine. I had a chat with her, and everything else seemed absolutely fine.”
She checked Áine’s blood pressure three times during the appointment and said the reading was “exactly the same” each time.
Áine mentioned that she had access to a blood pressure monitoring device because her father had high blood pressure, and Ms Walker recommended she take readings.
She told Áine to stop taking the medication because it was above 140/90 and book an appointment with her GP to discuss her contraception.
Ms Walker said that she didn’t appear to be nervous, and she believed her when she said that she wasn’t.
The inquest heard that Áine had been taking the pill since December 2020, and no concerns had been raised at any of her yearly check-ups before 2024.
Dr Moyinoluwa Oluwaseyi Onayade met with Áine at Spring House Surgery on January 6 and said “she seemed a bit upset”.
He said she had told him “that she would like to go back on the pill as soon as possible”.
He said he had discussed switching her to the progesterone-only pill, but that she had “declined going on because of the side effects”.
Dr Onayade said: “She preferred to go with the pill that she had been on for the past few years without any side effects.”
He added he was concerned because not being on the pill for more than four weeks “could lead to an increased risk of developing strokes”.
Confirming that the progesterone-only pill would also reduce this risk, he said he felt the decision to continue her on Femodette “was reasonable”.
Dr Onayade said that her blood pressure reading that day had been 130/90, which was within the limit, and her at-home readings since stopping the pill had been 120/70.
He said that he “wasn’t convinced her blood pressure was due to the pill” because he “would have expected her blood pressure to return much lower”.
He added that he told her to keep monitoring her blood pressure at home and book another appointment if it was above 140/90.
Kerry said: “She came back that night and said he’s told me to go back on it – she wouldn’t have taken it if she knew this would happen.
“We all take our doctor’s advice – she was 19.”
Have a story? Get in touch at eoin.mccaul@newsquest.co.uk
Coroner Mr Sigee said: “Looking back in hindsight, something might appear very obvious – but the question is, was it obvious at the time?”
He said that medications can have rare side effects, and “tragically, someone has to be that one in a thousand or one in ten thousand”.
Concluding, Mr Sigee said: “One key decision I’ve had to make is whether to include the Femodette medication in the cause of death.”
He said he had decided that the Femodette was appropriate to put in section one of the medical cause of death, meaning that it directly contributed to Áine’s death.
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He said: “I’m mindful of the evidence of Dr Malik that it wasn’t possible to test for other causes of thrombosis because on admission to the hospital, the focus was, rightly, on trying to save her life.
“But looking at matters as a whole and on the balance of probabilities, I’m satisfied that it was a cause of the death.”
Mr Sigee gave a short narrative conclusion that the death was “caused by a recognised but rare complication of appropriately prescribed medication”.
He concluded by reiterating his condolences and said: “The fact that so many of you are here shows how much Áine was loved by her family”.
