A DOCTOR who was allegedly providing a “bizarre” and “adventurous” form of treatment at a Dublin clinic found herself before a Medical Council fitness to practise inquiry yesterday.
Dr Lina Macaitiene was before the inquiry facing several allegations of poor professional performance or professional misconduct arising out of her treatment of a patient at her surgery, Irish Baltic Health Bridge Ltd, on North Circular Road, Dublin, in January 2009.
It was alleged the Lithuanian doctor put fellow Lithuanian national Ina Miksiene on a drip after she claimed to be weak and suffering from abdominal pain and swollen legs on January 26th last year. The patient was given an infusion of minerals and vitamins, as well as a sedative by infusion and an iron injection.
Prof Colin Bradley, professor of general practice at University College Cork, gave evidence this was “quite bizarre”. He said a GP would not normally put up an IV infusion unless in an emergency pending transfer of a patient to hospital. “It’s an extreme and adventurous type of treatment to be undertaking in general practise,” he said.
The patient told the inquiry she felt weak after the infusion and the doctor advised her to get some fresh air. Prof Bradley said this attitude was troubling and seemed to indicate a certain lack of concern for the patient’s wellbeing. There was a danger with IV infusions of causing a fluid or electrolyte imbalance in the body, he added.
The patient also told of collapsing on the way home. When she told Dr Macaitiene what happened, the doctor replied “nobody died from this” and advised her she should return to her surgery the next day.
The next day the patient, who understood she was being treated for a thrombus, something disputed by the doctor, said she asked for a letter of referral to hospital.
She was admitted to the Mater hospital for treatment and was diagnosed with anaemia and given a blood transfusion. Liver function and other tests performed there showed she did not have a drink problem. Dr Macaitiene had alleged in a letter to the Medical Council that the patient was known in the Lithuanian community as a woman who drank a lot.
The inquiry heard the patient was also prescribed aspirin on January 10th, which was contraindicated in someone with a history of gastro-intestinal problems.
Dr Macaitiene had treated her for a gastric ulcer in 2007. Furthermore she was prescribed an anti-depressant, allegedly without a proper history being taken.
The patient returned to Dr Macaitiene on January 31st after she was discharged from hospital seeking a sick certificate for her work as a cleaner.
She said when she raised with the doctor the fact that she had not been treated properly in her surgery, she was removed by security. The doctor got angry and refused to give her a sick cert, saying she had not paid for any of her treatment, which was true.
Dr Macaitiene, in her letter to the council, claimed the patient threatened to make a complaint against her to the Medical Council unless she was given money or medical certificates. She said the woman had no gratitude for the free services provided to her.
Before the opening statement setting out the case against Dr Macaitiene had been completed yesterday, however, the doctor got up and walked out of the inquiry.
Her counsel Simon Mills then sought an adjournment of the case and for the remainder of it to be heard in private.
His application was unsuccessful.
Mr Mills continued to represent the doctor even though he said she had withdrawn from the inquiry.
The case continues today.