thestar.co.uk on May 18, 2012 reported that a Nurse skipped work early leaving a dementia sufferer unconscious and covered in vomit, a professional misconduct hearing was told. Angela Phiri, aged 49, allegedly left her shift before it finished at Northfields Nursing Home, Roebuck Road, Crookesmoor, Sheffield – despite knowing the woman was unwell and needed urgent treatment. She is alleged to have claimed she didn't ‘want to spend a minute longer at the home' than she had to. The Nursing and Midwifery Council heard night shift nurse Alyna White took over from Phiri on April 17, 2009 – and phoned for an ambulance after discovering the patient lying in bed covered in vomit. “When I went into Patient B's room, I found her unconscious on her back in bed,” she said.

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democratandchronicle.com on May 18, 2012 reported that a family medicine doctor in Gates has been placed on three years probation and fined $15,000 by the state Department of Health after admitting to negligence on more than one occasion. Dr. Vu Tran of Tran Family Medicine, 1770 Long Pond Road, no longer can prescribe controlled substances. The probation is a stay of a three-year suspension of his license. During this time, Tran may practice only when he is monitored by a physician who is board certified in family medicine. The penalties take effect May 24, according to the Board for Professional Misconduct. Tran has been licensed to practice in New York since July 2001. He will continue to practice medicine during the probation, according to a statement from his attorney, Richard S. Tubiolo.

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channelnewsasia.com on May 17, 2012 reported that a doctor has been censured and fined for professional misconduct. A Disciplinary Committee Inquiry found Dr Chai Chwan, 47, guilty of 31 charges of misconduct. The Singapore Medical Council said on Thursday that the Inquiry proceedings arose out of two complaints by the Ministry of Health. One was on August 10, 2007 about Dr Chai's practice at Little Cross Family Clinic in Tampines. The other was on April 30, 2008 about his practice at My Little Family Clinic in Jalan Bukit Merah. The SMC said Dr Chai faced a total of 71 charges. The first group of charges related to the way he managed patients who had been prescribed Subutex. He faced a total of 49 charges – 27 were for patients seen at Little Cross Family Clinic and 22 for patients seen at My Little Family Clinic. Another set of charges revolved around financial schemes.

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unionleader.com on May 14, 2012 reported that the New Hampshire Board of Pharmacy has temporarily suspended the state pharmacy license of Jeffrey A. Licht after an investigation found Licht was being prescribed excessive amounts of a narcotic. Licht, a registered pharmacist, worked in Pharmacy Services at Dartmouth College Health Services, according to a staff listing on the college’s website. A Dartmouth spokesman did not respond by deadline. A professional misconduct hearing is set for 10 a.m. Wednesday at the Board of Pharmacy office at 57 Regional Drive, Concord. In an order dated May 11, the Board of Pharmacy said an investigation showed Licht diverted hydrocodone/acetaminophen from Dick’s House, which is part of Dartmouth College Health Services. Hydrocodone is an opiate. Reached by phone in Hanover, Licht called the charges “ludicrous.”

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dentistryiq.com on May 09, 2012 reported that a dentist has fulfilled his pledge to return to work after the collapse of his last clinic – despite handing over £50,000 to a former patient. Dr Charl Chapman has renegotiated a rent agreement with his former landlord, even though his previous surgery – Enhance Dental Clinic, which operated from the same premises in Hutton Road, Shenfield – has gone into receivership. Dr Chapman is now operating as an independent, private dentist at a new business named The Dental Practice. But before he actually made it back to work, his insurers forked out £50,000 to Elizabeth Fairney in an out-of-court settlement at the end of March. Complaint The payout relates to a complaint from Mrs Fairney in relation to "non-mainstream" treatments he gave for temporomandibular joint disorder between 2000 and 2007.

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smh.com.au on May 07, 2012 reported that a NSW psychiatrist slept with a 25-year-old patient, wrote her scripts for powerful drugs without consultation, paid her $20,000, took ecstasy with her and did not end the relationship because he thought she would get "extremely angry," the state Medical Tribunal has heard. The tribunal ordered that Neil Schultz – who has been reprimanded for misconduct before – be deregistered for 18 months. It found him guilty of professional misconduct, failing to protect patient confidentiality, having an inappropriate personal relationship with a patient and failing to observe professional boundaries.

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thisisdevon.co.uk on April 26, 2012 reported that a consultant surgeon at Torbay Hospital has been cleared of misconduct at a hearing of the General Medical Council. A fitness to practise panel in Manchester found Mr Nicholas Kenefick made mistakes during a 'formidably difficult operation' on a Torquay man in 2008. But the panel found his actions were not serious enough to be classed as misconduct. His patient, Tim Gronow, was a GP in Newton Abbot who later retired due to ill-health after being diagnosed with terminal cancer. He was referred to during the hearing as Patient A but has agreed to waive his right to anonymity. He and his wife, Hannah Gronow, herself a GP in Paignton, have expressed their disappointment at the decision of the GMC.

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independent.ie on April 24, 2012 reported that a Doctor who touched a female patient for his own sexual gratification has promised to withdraw his licence to practise in Ireland and never apply for it again. UK-based Dr Rashid Motala (58), who qualified from the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin in 1984, was found guilty last year by a Medical Council Fitness to Practise Committee of professional misconduct in relation to three patients. The committee held that the South Africa-born doctor had removed a woman patient’s trousers without seeking any or adequate consent to do so and he then rubbed her groin, side and bottom.

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thejakartapost.com on April 23, 2012 reported that a doctor has been suspended from practice for four months and fined $5,000 for professional misconduct. Kwan Wai Chee, 43, pleaded guilty to 10 charges of failing to exercise due care' when she managed and treated her patients with inappropriate prescription of Hypnotics and cough mixture containing codeine'. At the time of the complaint, Kwan was practicing as a general practitioner at Bishan Grace Clinic, in Bishan Street 11.

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thestar.com on April 22, 2012 reported that Ontario doctors lose their licence to practise for a variety of reasons

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rte.ie on April 18, 2012 reported that a consultant dermatologist, accused of poor professional performance and professional misconduct against a number of patients, is facing a fitness to practise inquiry. A hearing of the Irish Medical Council has opened in Waterford and heard allegations against Dr Adam Jacobus Smith, 65, whose address is given as Co Kilkenny. The complaints are being made by the Munster Dermatology Group. Dr Smith has worked as a consultant dermatologist in the Whitfield Clinic in Waterford, Aut Even hospital in Kilkenny, and Barringtons Hospital in Limerick. The public hearing is expected to last three days and involves 12 patients.

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smh.com.au on April 07, 2012 reported that a Central Coast plastic surgeon who attempted to pioneer in Australia a ''breast lift by threads'' procedure has been found guilty of professional misconduct and suspended after a woman he invited to take part in a free demonstration was left with a permanent deformity. Tat Kong Joseph Tiong, who has surgical rights at several eastern suburbs private hospitals and the Curringa Medical Centre in Kariong, first saw the woman when she sought his advice on having a mole removed in mid-2007. A judgment handed down by the NSW Medical Tribunal on Thursday revealed Dr Tiong told her about the Promoitalia thread system, an Italian-devised technique in which threads are inserted to lift sagging skin and tissue.

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news.asiaone.com on April 05, 2012 reported that General practitioner Tan Keok Kuan David, 49, has been suspended and fined by the Singapore Medical Council (SMC) for professional misconduct. The doctor from Yishun Central Clinic was found guilty on eight charges, including the inappropriate prescription of addictive medicines Subutex and Stilnox. He also failed to formulate any management plan for the treatment of his patients’ medical conditions and did not maintain proper details of his patients’ conditions and history.

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independent.ie on March 30, 2012 reported that an on-call doctor who had to be bleeped repeatedly for an hour-and-a-quarter before he attended to an emergency patient with chest pains has been found guilty of professional misconduct. He had also made inappropriate comments about a patient’s daughter as he carried out a procedure he was not asked to do. Sudanese physician Dr Eltayeb Elmubark Abdel Gadir Elkhabir was found guilty yesterday of professional misconduct by an Irish Medical Council fitness to practice committee for making inappropriate comments to a patient and failing to attend to a patient within an adequate time frame. Dr Elkhabir, who has worked in various Irish hospitals since 2001, failed to attend the hearing yesterday.

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trtribune.com on April 01, 2012 reported that the South Carolina Board of Medical Examiners has temporarily reinstated the license of a doctor previously accused of fondling women patients at his Travelers Rest practice, according to the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation’s website. In an Interim Order of Reinstatement issued by the Board, Dr. Titus Caddell, 53, is said to have complied with all requests and requirements

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ottawacitizen.com on March 21, 2012 reported that an Ottawa dentist faces a three month suspension of his licence to practice after being found guilty of professional misconduct by the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario. David Halpin, who runs the Smiles on Sparks dentistry clinic in downtown Ottawa, has also been reprimanded and ordered to take training courses in record keeping, ethics and appropriate workplace behaviour. Halpin's first six-week licence suspension began Tuesday. He will have to serve another sixweek suspension at a later date. Halpin, who specializes in cosmetic dentistry, was found guilty by the college's discipline committee of assigning an unqualified person to perform a dental procedure; recommending or providing an unnecessary dental service; charging excessive or unreasonable fees; and submitting a false or misleading account.

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bbc.co.uk on March 15, 2012 reported that a nurse who was filmed accidentally switching off the ventilator of a paralysed man has been struck off. Agency nurse Violeta Aylward was then filmed unsuccessfully trying to turn the machine back on. Jamie Merrett, 39, was left severely brain damaged. A Nursing and Midwifery Council hearing found Ms Aylward guilty of serious professional misconduct following the incident in January 2009. Mr Merrett, from Wiltshire, had CCTV installed amid concerns about his care. Ambition 24hours, the agency which supplied Ms Aylward, said it was unable to comment.

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