Doctor ‘refused to take advice’

An expert witness yesterday painted a picture of an arrogant junior doctor who refused to take advice from his superiors, arguing that the doctor represented a danger to patients.

Dr Paul Henry, from the Northern Ireland Cancer Centre, also told a Medical Council inquiry yesterday that the behaviour displayed by junior registrar Dr Saqib Ahmed was “inappropriate”.

Dr Ahmed, who was working as a junior registrar in oncology at University Hospital Limerick in 2012, is facing eight allegations of professional misconduct and/or poor professional performance. Dr Ahmed was representing himself from the US via Skype.

As a junior registrar, Dr Ahmed should have taken on board advice given to him by more experienced staff members, Dr Henry told the fitness-to-practise inquiry.

“A junior trainee is very much there to learn and absorb information,” explained Dr Henry, a consultant in clinical oncology.

“At junior level, it’s very much a question of following the command of the senior consultants, unless there are exceptional circumstances.”

One of the allegations against Dr Ahmed claims that he did not take on board advice given to him by a much more experienced member of staff in relation to a medication prescribed to a critically unwell patient.

Barrister Tom Hogan, representing the chief executive of the Medical Council, put it to Dr Henry that another witness, Professor Sanjeev Gupta, one of Dr Ahmed’s superiors at UHL, claimed that Dr Ahmed was a danger to patients. “I would agree with that,” Dr Henry said.

The inquiry continues.