A dermatologist facing more than 100 allegations of professional misconduct and poor professional performance has said he would not give a powerful drug again to a child without blood tests because of the “accountancy burden” in Ireland.
Dr Adam Jacobus Smith (65), the Whitfield Clinic, Waterford, denied he put patient D (11), a boy with psoriasis, at risk when he prescribed Neotigason, a drug with possible side effects including stunted growth.
He told a Medical Council fitness-to-practise hearing yesterday he would not give the drug in the same way again because he would like to have the blood tests “on record”. “When in Rome do as the Romans do,” he said.
The doctor was giving evidence on the 28th day of a hearing of allegations against him relating to 12 patients.
In previous evidence, the committee heard that the manufacturer’s instructions on Neotigason said the drug should not be given to children unless the benefits significantly outweighed the risks. It also said the maximum daily dose for children was 30mg.
Dr Smith had initially prescribed 25mg a day for patient D, increasing to 50mg a day.
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