A doctor examining a female officer in the Defence Forces inappropriately exposed one of her breasts during the consultation at the Curragh Camp, a Medical Council fitness-to-practise inquiry has heard.
The GP, identified as Dr C, is alleged to have pulled down the left side of the sports bra of the soldier, Patient A, and exposed her left breast during the consultation on September 19th, 2022.
The patient was a captain in the Defence Forces at the time of the consultation and is now a commandant.
Dr Maria O’Kane, chief executive of the Medical Council, alleged this conduct was inappropriate, not clinically justified, done without Patient A’s consent, and without Dr C informing Patient A in advance that he proposed to do this.
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It was also alleged the doctor failed to document adequately in A’s medical records his findings following the physical examination.
It was further alleged he prescribed an intramuscular injection, Rocephin, for A where this was not clinically appropriate and not in line with Irish antimicrobial prescribing practices.
The generic name of Rocephin is Ceftriaxone.
It was also alleged he made an entry in A’s records documenting “cefexime 1gm” being prescribed, where this was inaccurate.
The inquiry heard the doctor made admissions as to fact and also that, in combination, they amounted to poor professional performance.
Neasa Bird, barrister for the chief executive, submitted the allegations amounted to a single finding of poor professional performance as they related to “a single episode of care” regarding A.
Bird told the inquiry that Dr C obtained his medical degree in Sudan in 1996 and from 1999 he worked as a GP in Saudi Arabia. In November 2021, he registered on the general division with the Irish Medical Council and in 2022 he came to Ireland.
He provided locum GP services for a short time to the Defence Forces at Curragh training camp, Co Kildare.
On September 19th, 2022, Patient A attended a medical aid post at the camp with symptoms of wheezing and coughing.
She declined a request from Dr C to take off her bra, Bird told the inquiry. He then asked her to lift up her bra by a small amount.
According to Patient A, without notice and without consent, he pulled down the left side of her bra and exposed her left breast for a period of about ten seconds, Bird told the inquiry.
At the conclusion of the examination he put the left breast away. Patient A said she felt “very uncomfortable” and “sick and surprised”, Bird told the inquiry.
Dr C prescribed an antibiotic to be injected intramuscularly.
Patient A returned to the medical aid post in the afternoon where she had a discussion with the nursing staff.
As a result, she was taken to a different doctor, Dr B, who was on duty. He performed a chest examination which did not result in an exposure of breasts.
He diagnosed an infection of the lower respiratory tract and prescribed oral antibiotics.
He said intramuscular antibiotics would not be appropriate, in line with Irish antimicrobial prescribing practices.
Dr B made a report which went along the chain of command and ultimately he made a complaint to the Medical Council.
The complaint included that Rocephin was used for more severe conditions such as E. coli and is not prescribed in a community setting.
In his response, Dr C said that from memory he prescribed oral antibiotics at a previous appointment with Patient A but there was no improvement in her severe coughing.
He said at the appointment on September 19th, 2022, he explained he would be examining her chest and offered to get a chaperone for the patient but she said there was no need.
He denied he did anything inappropriate and said he obtained her consent.
The inquiry will resume on Monday.
