Doctor to face sanctions over player’s treatment

A DOCTOR is to face sanctions over his treatment of a GAA player with cruciate ligament injuries in the emergency department at Kerry General Hospital in Tralee last year.

A hearing of the Irish Medical Council’s fitness to practise committee yesterday found Dr Babatunde Bantale guilty of three charges of poor professional performance over his handling of the case.

It followed a complaint by a young woman, known only as Patient X, who sought treatment for an injury sustained while playing Gaelic football on June 30, 2010.

The 23-year-old teacher, whose application to give evidence in private was refused, said she had arrived at the hospital on crutches. She told the hearing that her knee was visibly swollen and she was unable to put any weight on her leg.

She claimed she became quite angry when Dr Bantale told her injuries were “all in my head” and refused her request for a second opinion.

Dr Fergal Cummins, a consultant in emergency medicine at the Mid-West Regional Hospital in Limerick, told the inquiry it was not always easy for a doctor to diagnose a cruciate ligament injury on initial examination in an emergency department. However, Dr Cummins criticised Dr Bantale for failing to refer the patient for further assessment, such as an MRI scan.

The council committee heard the patient attended her own GP two days later and she subsequently required an operation at the Bon Secours Hospital in Tralee for the injury to her cruciate ligament.

Dr Bantale, 42, originally from Nigeria and a former junior doctor at Tralee General Hospital, had described the complaints made against him as “absolute rubbish”.

Giving evidence via a phone link from Australia, he said he was very surprised by the complaint. He recalled that he did not think Patient X had suffered a cruciate ligament injury as she had reported no pain and did not appear to have any swelling or tenderness around her knee.

Dr Bantale also worked at hospitals in Cork, Portlaoise and Naas during five years working in Ireland.

Although the committee acknowledged there was a discrepancy in evidence between the two parties, it found Dr Bantale guilty of poor professional performance on three charges: His failure to carry out a proper examination of the patient, to seek a second opinion, and to meet the expected standards of clinical judgment of a practitioner with his level of experience.

Two separate allegations of professional misconduct were withdrawn at the outset of the hearing.

The committee ruled that allegations Dr Bantale had told the patient that her injuries were “all in her head” and that he had behaved in a rude and derogatory manner were not proven.

The committee proposed sanctions against the doctor, which were not made public and will be considered at the next full sitting of the medical council.