Radiographer struggled to take basic X-rays, inquiry told

The radiographer was rated with the competence of a 'second-year undergraduate', a fitness-to-practise inquiry has heard.

A radiographer at a Dublin hospital specialising in the treatment of cancer patients struggled to take basic X-rays and was rated with the competence of a “second-year undergraduate”, a fitness-to-practise inquiry has heard.

Tafadzwanashe 'Edison' Denhere, a radiographer at St Luke’s Hospital in Rathgar, admitted to four counts of poor professional performance at a hearing in Dublin.

The inquiry by the fitness-to-practise committee of CORU, the regulatory body of health and social care professionals, heard that Mr Denhere was still offered a senior radiography post by St Luke’s in 2018 despite being aware of serious concerns over his competence.

Mr Denhere, who qualified in Zimbabwe in 2007, took up employment as a senior radiographer in nuclear medicine at St Luke’s in April 2016.

He currently works as a technician at the hospital after restrictions were placed on his registration as a radiographer.

Mr Denhere admitted to two counts of failing to demonstrate the skill and/or knowledge required to safely practise as a radiographer between September 23, 2017, and February 4, 2018, while on call in St Luke’s diagnostic imaging department.

Counsel for CORU, Eoghan O’Sullivan BL, said there were concerns over how X-rays were performed by Mr Denhere.

A third allegation was that Mr Denhere, over the same period, engaged in the practice of radiography on his own while working the on-call roster in circumstances where he knew, or ought to have known, that he did not have the adequate skill, knowledge, competence, or experience.

He was also accused of failing to ensure that answers about pregnancy and breastfeeding from a 40-year-old female patient were recorded before administering a radioactive injection in May 2018.

The committee was told that CORU was contacted in October 2018 by Susan Neill, the then-radiography services manager at St Luke’s, about her concerns over Mr Denhere, including the slow pace of his work.

Ms Neill recalled how Mr Denhere once took 75 minutes to take an X-ray that should only have taken five minutes.

In February 2018, Ms Neill said she had seen X-rays taken by Mr Denhere on a weekend when he was working unsupervised which caused her concern as there were issues with images taken from three out of four patients.

The inquiry heard a subsequent review of all X-rays taken by Mr Denhere while working unsupervised resulted in the allegations before the fitness-to-practise committee.

Mr Denhere was permanently removed from the hospital’s on-call roster following a review, and has had no role with the hospital’s diagnostic imaging department since that time.

Ms Neill said she did not believe plans by the HSE-run hospital to retrain Mr Denhere were appropriate as she felt a qualified radiographer “should be competent to perform basic X-ray examinations”. She said St Luke’s management had gone ahead with interviewing Mr Denhere for a senior vacancy, despite her objection and  ahead of a scheduled clinical assessment to be carried out on Mr Denhere in August 2018.

Mr Denhere subsequently failed the assessment by St Vincent’s University Hospital, which expressed “huge concerns” about his competency, which it rated as being on the level of “a second-year undergraduate”. It recommended he should not be allowed to work in an unsupervised capacity.

The hearing continues today.