A husband who had a heart attack on holiday in Portugal would probably still be alive if a UK doctor he saw days earlier had advised him to stay at home, an inquest heard.

David Robinson, 57, saw a GP in September 2014 complaining of breathlessness and a strange sensation in his chest – but was told it was fine to go abroad.

Two days later Mr Robinson flew to the Algarve with his wife Joanne Salt-Robinson but just a couple of days into the holiday, still feeling unwell, he visited a local clinic.

Doctors identified his arteries were blocked and transferred him to hospital for a heart bypass, but he died four days later following a rare complication, the court heard.

Kathryn Hayes, assistant coroner at Chesterfield Coroners’ Court, said it was ‘unlikely’ Mr Robinson would have died on September 8 ‘had he remained in the UK’.

Recording a narrative conclusion, she found if had he been told not to travel to Portugal by the locum doctor in the UK he would not have gone.

However, she added Dr Natasha Dhamija, at The Wheatbridge Surgery in Chesterfield, did make an ‘appropriate’ decision within her discretion.

Mrs Salt-Robinson was present at the appointment and expressed her concerns, but her husband’s symptoms were put down to anxiety or stress.

When Joanne asked if her husband should visit A&E for an heart test, Dr Dhamija said it was not necessary and they should go and enjoy their holiday, the hearing heard.

Dr Dhamija told Mr Robinson’s inquest she did not think the symptoms he presented with were cardiac-caused – and added she did not recall a discussion about him going on holiday.

Mr Robinson had a strong family history of heart problems, with four of his uncles dying of heart attacks in their 50s, Mrs Salt-Robinson said.

In December 2013, he was rushed to hospital after collapsing at home and weeks before his death he complained of getting out of breath and struggling to exercise.

On August 29, Mr Robinson struggled to walk more than 100 yards without stopping for breath and saw a doctor, the inquest heard.

He had a heart bypass at a Faro hospital on September 4, and within three days he was sitting up talking to his family.

But hours later at 1am, on September 8, Mrs Salt-Robinson got a call saying her husband had died.

In an emotional statement, she said: ‘During visiting on the day before Dave died he seemed to be making good progress.

‘It was the first time in a week that he seemed to be more like himself.

‘When it was time to say goodbye I checked with him that he was fine and he said he was so grateful the doctors in Portugal had finally diagnosed him correctly and at least we could go back home and have a long and happy life together.

‘After hearing that I was so happy as for the first time I was feeling positive about his progress and the future.

‘The next thing I was being woken up by my phone. It was the hospital saying Dave had died.

‘He had been laughing and joking with hospital staff one minute and the next minute his heart had stopped beating.

‘If we had known how serious Dave’s condition was we would never have gone on holiday.

‘It is difficult not to think that if he had been referred to hospital for tests in August 2014, staff would have got to the bottom of his symptoms and he would still be with us today.

‘Dave was such a loving man who adored life and lived it to the full. He is missed every moment of every day by all of his family and all that knew him.’

In the wake of Mr Robinson’s death, Mrs Salt-Robinson enlisted specialist medical negligence lawyers Irwin Mitchell to investigate the circumstances.

Lawyer Helen Jones said: ‘The last four years have been incredibly difficult for Jo and all of her and David’s family as they attempted to come to terms with his death.

‘Jo has waited a long time to give her evidence.

‘She attended the emergency appointment with David and she believes she made it clear to the GP that the couple were due to go on holiday to Portugal, something which was always denied by the GP.

‘We will continue to support Joanne and the rest of the family at this distressing time.’

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