A radiographer at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda who failed to respond to repeated efforts to contact him to carry out an urgent scan on a seven-month-old baby with a serious head injury has had his registration suspended for three months.
The sanction follows a finding that the radiographer, Ugochukwu Owoh, was guilty of professional misconduct and poor professional performance over three separate incidents at the hospital two years ago including the failure to respond to calls when on call.
Mr Owoh has also had conditions attached to his registration as a radiographer for a period of nine months after the expiry of his suspension.
An inquiry held last November by CORU – the regulatory body of health and social care professionals – heard evidence that Mr Owoh had failed to respond to numerous calls and texts requiring him to carry out an urgent scan on the baby boy on July 24th, 2022.
The radiographer claimed his phone’s ringtone had inadvertently been turned down while it was in his pocket.
A short time later on the same date, Mr Owoh also accepted he had failed to close out an urgent review of an elderly man with a suspected stroke in a timely manner and failed to notify a consultant radiologist that scans on the patient had been completed.
The inquiry heard that he “just left and went home” but he subsequently claimed it was due to stress over the realisation of his earlier failure to respond to calls for a scan on the baby boy while on call.
Separately, the radiographer also accepted that he had driven home around four hours before his shift was due to finish at a time he was on-call and supposed to stay within the hospital on April 24th, 2022.
The inquiry chairperson, Shane McCarthy, said the committee was satisfied that Mr Owoh had left the hospital early in circumstances where he had failed to obtain any permission to do so.
Contradictory excuses
Dr McCarthy noted that contradictory excuses had been provided by Mr Owoh about his reason for leaving the hospital early.
The committee accepted that the radiographer had not acted in the best interest of patients and his actions had put patient safety at risk due to a lack of on-call cover in the event of an emergency.
Mr Owoh, who has been registered as a radiographer in Ireland since May 2015, acknowledged that the admissions he made in relation to the three different allegations constituted professional misconduct and poor professional performance.
The inquiry heard his actions also constituted several breaches of the code of professional conduct and ethics for radiographers.
The inquiry arose on foot of a complaint submitted to CORU by the radiography services manager at Our Lady of Lourdes, Jacqui McGovern, about Mr Owoh who has worked in the hospital since July 2016.
Evidence
A senior radiographer who was on-call from home, Sarah Tully, gave evidence that she could not believe it when she noticed Mr Owoh driving out of the hospital in his car at around 5am as she was responding to a call to return to Our Lady of Lourdes.
“I knew he should still be on site,” said Ms Tully.
The inquiry heard the hospital provided an apartment within its grounds for staff to take rest periods during long shifts.
The hospital’s radiology services manager, Stephanie Kelso, told CORU that Mr Owoh had provided no reason why he left his shift early when she confronted him about it.
However, Mr Owoh subsequently informed the hospital that he had been feeling unwell but maintained that it had adequate radiographer cover on the night.
The inquiry heard evidence that his absence could have caused serious problems if there had been a major trauma incident at the hospital.
Written warning
Mr Owoh was issued with a written warning in October 2022 and had been removed from “on call” duties until the conclusion of the CORU inquiry.
The inquiry committee said the radiographer’s misconduct included “failures of follow-through, communication, continuity with patient care and inadequacies in team work".
It found Mr Owoh’s claim that he had left work early on April 24th, 2022 was unsubstantiated and contradicted evidence that he had told a colleague that he had no reason for finishing his shift early.
Dr McCarthy said Mr Owoh’s belief that there had been adequate radiography cover demonstrated “a lack of insight and understanding".
Although the committee acknowledged that the radiographer had undergone a course in managing pressure in November 2023 and installed a landline in his home, it said he had otherwise only taken “minimal steps” to ensure his misconduct would not be repeated.
The inquiry committee recommended that Mr Owoh be suspended for a period of six months to reflect the gravity of his conduct.
However, the Health and Social Care Professionals Council decided to reduce the suspension period to three months and impose restrictions on his work for nine months after the end of his suspension period which was subsequently formally ratified by the High Court.
