Doctor in misconduct case storms out of medical hearing
Dr Lina Macaitene withdrew without explanation shortly after the start of the case before the Fitness to Practise Committee.
However, the committee decided to hear details of complaints made against Dr Macaitene despite an application by her lawyers for an adjournment.
Macaitene, who qualified in Lithuania, arrived in Ireland four years ago and works as a GP at the Irish Baltic Healthbridge Clinic on the North Circular Road, Dublin.
The hearing arose following a complaint by Lithuanian patient, Ina Miksiene who gave evidence of attending Dr Macaitene’s surgery in January 2009 with complaints of swollen legs and feeling unwell.
Dr Macaitene is facing a series of allegations of professional misconduct and poor professional performance, including that she failed to adequately examine the patient, incorrectly diagnosed her as suffering from thrombus, inappropriately gave her injections and placed her on a drip.
She also allegedly said Ms Miksiene did not require admission to hospital and failed to supply a reference letter for her.
Ms Miksiene was subsequently admitted to the Mater Hospital where she was diagnosed as suffering primarily from anaemia.
Ms Miksiene complained she was refused a medical certificate when she returned to Dr Macaitene after being discharged. She also accused the GP of failing to pay her for medicines which she had brought back to Ireland from Lithuania and that the doctor called for security to remove her.
The hearing was informed by JP McDowell, solicitor for the IMC, that Dr Macaitene was claiming her patient was known, within the Lithuanian community in Ireland, to drink a lot of alcohol. The doctor also said she was owed about €400 in medical fees by Ms Miksiene.
She further maintains Ms Miksiene threatened to report her to the IMC if she wasn’t provided with money or medical certificates. Ms Miksiene described such claims as “nonsense.”
An expert witness, Professor Colin Bradley of UCC, told the hearing it was bizarre and unusual for an intra-veinous drip to be used in a GP setting.
He also claimed tests conducted at the Mater gave no indication Ms Miksiene was suffering from any alcohol-related illness.
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