DOCTOR 'FAILED' TRAGIC TOT LUCY; Medic's tears at hearing into death.Byline: CHARLES YATES Charles Yates was a brigadier-general during the American Civil War in command of the volunteer depot of New York City in 1861. Col. Yates commanded the Fourth Regiment of the New York National Guard before his promotion to brigadier-general. A DOCTOR has been found guilty of serious professional misconduct professional misconduct, n conduct inappropriate to the practice of health care. professional misconduct Behavior by a professional that implies an intentional compromise of ethical standards. over the death of a 17-month-old toddler. Dr Jarlath Michael O'Donohoe wiped away tears during the hearing into the death of Lucy Crawford who died at the Erne Hospital in Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh. The hearing in Manchester heard she had been given high levels of fluids during her treatment at the hospital. The GMC GMC See: Guaranteed Mortgage Certificate fitness-to-practice panel found that Dr O'Donohoe's "actions in relation to Lucy were not in her best interests and fell below the standards to be expected of a reasonably competent consultant paediatrician". He was blasted for failing to calculate an "acceptable plan of fluid replacement", not making a record on April 12 when she was admitted and not ensuring that the nursing staff on the ward knew of an adequate fluid replacement plan or system for monitoring its progress. Lucy, from Letterbreen, Co Fermanagh, was treated at the Erne for gastro-enteritis, an acute viral infection viral infection, n an infection by a pathogenic virus. A virus acts on the cell nucleus, taking over the genetic material within the nucleus and replicating itself. of the stomach and intestine, which caused her to vomit vomit /vom·it/ (vom´it) 1. to eject stomach contents through the mouth. 2. matter expelled from the stomach by the mouth. and gave her diarrhoea as a result of which she became dehydrated de·hy·drate v. de·hy·drat·ed, de·hy·drat·ing, de·hy·drates v.tr. 1. To remove water from; make anhydrous. 2. To preserve by removing water from (vegetables, for example). . It was when she was admitted to the hospital and put on a drip to replace the fluids she had lost that fatal mistakes were made. Staff failed to properly manage the levels and she died from the resulting swelling of her brain. An inquest into Lucy's death heard that "fundamental errors" had led to her death, and that she had died from hyponatraemia, brought about by mismanagement mis·man·age tr.v. mis·man·aged, mis·man·ag·ing, mis·man·ag·es To manage badly or carelessly. mis·man  age·ment n. of the drip.
Dr O'Donohoe said: "It was a very distressing experience and one that I suppose in many respects I and others will never recover from. "I don't say that in any sense to minimise the loss of the family. "I don't say that it is anything like the loss of a child." The findings revealed: "The panel has taken account of the fact that your misconduct related to one patient over a relatively short space of time, and not to a number of patients over a longer period of time. "However, the potential consequences of your misconduct were serious and placed that patient at an unnecessary risk of harm." CAPTION(S): ERRORS Dr Jarlath Michael O'Donohoe |
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