The NHS has been criticised for suspending a GP with bipolar disorder by a coroner who warned that services “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 the mother of two, 46, was found hanged at her home after telling her partner "How can I have been so stupid?"

Derbyshire's Assistant Coroner James Newman concluded that Mrs Potts committed suicide on November 24, 2015. He criticised the way the matter was handled and the manner in which the NHS deals with doctors suffering mental health issues.

He said: "It seems to me the suspension and investigation was something of a sledgehammer being used to crack a nut.

And he added that no one should forget GPs are "doing an incredible job in very difficult circumstances".