A doctor has been quizzed by a coroner about his failure to carry out a chest examination that could have saved the life of a Wolverhampton teenager.

Instead 17-year-old Michael Bronk was wrongly diagnosed with tonsillitis, then sent home with a prescription for penicillin and died hours later on Christmas Eve.

The wheelchair-bound student, of Oak Street, Merridale, suffered from muscular dystrophy, which makes sufferers prone to chest infections, the inquest heard.

He was initially taken to New Cross Hospital by his mother in the early hours of December 24, suffering from throat problems.

After two hours he was seen by trainee registrar Kasyap Jamalapuram, who diagnosed acute tonsillitis, even though one of the symptoms is a raised temperature and the teenager’s was normal, the Wolverhampton hearing was told.

Asked by Black Country coroner Richard Allen why he had not carried out a chest examination, the doctor “did not feel it was necessary,” because the patient was complaining about only a cough and sore throat.

Recording a narrative verdict, Mr Allen said: “It is not possible to say whether he would have survived if he had been admitted and treated appropriately.”

Afterwards Michael’s mother Christine Bronk said: “We believe he could have lived longer.”

The family have logged an official complaint with the NHS ombudsman.