A Donegal-based doctor at the centre of a fitness-to-practise inquiry into the treatment of an infant patient with chickenpox who developed sepsis has made an undertaking to not repeat the conduct which led to a complaint against him.
Dr Matthew Thomas, a paediatric consultant at Letterkenny University Hospital, claimed he “did not check” his patient’s blood test results which showed signs of infection requiring antibiotic treatment.
The baby, who was 16 months old at the time, was brought into hospital on June 24th 2013 with a serious case of chickenpox.
Over the course of the next number of days her condition deteriorated and she developed sepsis and toxic shock syndrome.
A Medical Council inquiry examined whether Dr Thomas had failed to expedite a blood sample on June 26th 2013, and had failed to start antibiotic treatment when the blood results showed they were required.
The allegations were of poor professional performance and professional misconduct.
Speaking at the inquiry on Friday Dr Thomas said he was told the results of the blood tests he ordered at 10:15am were unavailable when he finished his round of the ward that evening, before going home for the day.
Later that evening around 7:30pm staff working on the ward followed up on the blood tests, which showed high levels of C-Reactive Protein (CRP), indicating a secondary infection, and began treating the infant with antibiotics.
Subsequently, the young child was transferred to the intensive care unit in Our Lady’s Crumlin Hospital the next day.
For full story see https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/doctor-claims-he-did-not-check-infant-s-blood-results-1.3361637
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