A CONSULTANT gynaecologist at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, has been charged with 38 counts of professional misconduct following the death of a woman from a cancerous tumour.
A fitness to practise inquiry at the Medical Council was told allegations against Dr Etop Sampson Akpan were made after the death of Sharon McEneaney from Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan, in April 2009.
Ms McEneaney first attended Our Lady of Lourdes in October 2007, then aged 29, but she was not treated for cancer until July 2008.
It was only after the intervention of former TD Dr Rory O’Hanlon, in late June 2008, that a biopsy was carried out which diagnosed the condition.
JP McDowell, for the Medical Council, said yesterday the council sought to bring 41 allegations against Dr Akpan, who qualified in Nigeria in 1985, but three were withdrawn.
In his opening statement, he said Ms McEneaney attended the emergency department at the hospital on October 2007 complaining of severe pain on her left side. She had an ultrasound scan and was referred to outpatients for follow up.
Late in October, she returned to her GP, Dr Shane Corr, still complaining of pain and was sent again to the emergency department. Again she had a pelvic scan and was referred to outpatients.
On November 7th, a third referral to the emergency department resulted in her admittance to the hospital.
She had a scan that showed up a mass and her case was reviewed by Dr Akpan. He suggested she should be discharged and then readmitted for explorative surgery within two weeks.
Mr McDowell said Ms McEneaney wasn’t admitted until December 19th. When the laparoscopy was performed, a large mass was found. A specialist from the surgical team recommended a biopsy should not be carried out then due to the risk of bleeding, but a CT scan should be carried out and there should be a “radiologically guided” biopsy.
It was also noted Ms McEneaney had been diagnosed at the hospital in 2004 as having neurofibromatosis, a condition that could lead to malignant tumour growth. A CT scan was carried out on January 24th, 2008, and Ms McEneaney returned to Dr Akpan on February 13th.
She was given another ultrasound on April 3rd, but no guided biopsy took place, Mr McDowell said.
On May 23rd, Ms McEneaney returned to her GP and he wrote to seek an update of her case. His letter said he had no idea what, if any, follow-up had been arranged for her.
“We are both totally in the dark,” the GP’s letter said. His secretary also called Dr Akpan’s secretary, who told her Ms McEneaney’s chart was sitting on Dr Akpan’s desk with a note on it querying what to do next, Mr McDowell said.
He told the committee Dr O’Hanlon intervened in late June and Ms McEneaney got an appointment for July 2nd. A guided biopsy was carried out on July 14th and, on July 21st, her GP sought the results of the biopsy himself and was told the mass was malignant.
He personally contacted Dr Akpan, gave him the result and asked him to contact Ms McEneaney.
She was then referred to Beaumont Hospital in Dublin for treatment “commencing straight away”, Mr McDowell said, but she died in April 2009.
Giving evidence, Dr Corr described general communications between the hospital and his practice as “extremely unsatisfactory”. And he also gave evidence the reports sent to him when Ms McEneaney was discharged were factually wrong.
They had been filled out by interns instead of by senior house officers or by the consultant, the committee heard.
“I’ve always felt this case was a systemic failure,” Dr Corr said.
The hearing will continue today.
