Doctor was unable to take patient’s pulse

A ROMANIAN doctor who was unable to take a patient’s pulse has been found guilty of poor professional performance following a fitness to practise inquiry by the Medical Council.

The inquiry upheld a number of allegations against Dr Asia Ndaga, who was not at the inquiry, but did not find her guilty of professional misconduct.

Chairman Brendan Broderick said the 31-year-old doctor, who worked at Letterkenny General Hospital in Donegal failed to meet standards of competence that could be reasonably expected of medical practitioners.

The inquiry was told that efforts were made to contact Dr Ndaga, who has an address in Coleraine, Co Derry, and is also registered with the British General Medical Council.

As part of the Royal College of Physicians’ training scheme, the doctor was placed for one year as a senior house officer in Letterkenny from July 2010 and was to work under the supervision of consultants.

Counsel for the Medical Council, JP McDowell, said concerns were raised by staff in early August about Dr Ndaga’s competence.

On August 17 the doctor examined a patient suffering from severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and was unable to say how much oxygen was being administered.

Dr Ndaga also failed to identify the medical devices being used and take the patient’s pulse. She also said the patient was suffering from rickets when she ought to have known that this was not the case.

Dr Jose Miranda, one of the consultants who had supervised Dr Ndaga, before going on leave at the end of July, said he did not see Dr Ndaga’s references.

The inquiry heard that the Royal College of Physicians was responsible for the interview process that led to the doctor being placed in Letterkenny.

Dr Ken Mulpeter, a consultant at the hospital who assessed Dr Ndaga when she examined the patient with COPD, said that he had recommended that she cease working as a doctor at the hospital immediately.

After this Dr Ndaga said she felt the assessment was too brief; that it was her first employment in Ireland and she did not have experience in the Irish health system.

Dr Mulpeter said that at the time the hospital had experienced some difficulty in recruiting doctors.

“We were prepared to apply more close supervision,” he said. “Usually in the first few weeks, whenever a new cohort of doctors arrive you try to suss out the weak doctors and offer them some support, if necessary. You identify very quickly who the very competent doctors are.”

A report on the findings of the day long inquiry and recommendations as to sanction will be presented to a full meeting of the Medical Council.