An elderly man died after he was injected with 100 times the required dosage of insulin by a junior doctor on his first night shift, an inquest heard today.
Walter Johnston, 92, was treated at Belfast City Hospital by the doctor, who said he had not been trained in administering the potentially lethal drug.
Dr Nuzaimin Ahmad used the wrong syringe in the early hours of February 25, 2005, despite a warning sign near where it was kept. The doctor, who was from Malaysia, resigned, returned home and was later suspended by the British General Medical Council.
Belfast coroner John Leckey said: "He was someone who recognised that they had limitations, felt isolated, felt nervous and uncertain about how to do the task that was allotted, but yet with all that did not take what seems to be the sensible step of asking someone more senior, be it a senior nurse or a senior colleague, that what he proposed to do was the proper way to do it." He was also "unfamiliar" with reading the heart monitor and was on call for different wards after only weeks at the hospital.
The patient, a retired architect from Newtownabbey, had undergone surgery for an aneurysm (blood clot) in the knee and was recovering poorly.
Dr Ahmad was called to his bedside as he was experiencing difficulties, including kidney failure, and sought advice from an inexperienced junior doctor.
The Belfast City Hospital Trust has since taken a number of steps, including improving guidance for doctors about insulin treatment. The son of the widower, Stephen Johnston, said he was heartened by the trust's actions. "We were very upset and distressed that the trust seemed to lack the rigour and support to mitigate the lack of ability or competence of junior staff. We are therefore delighted that the trust has now put in place systems that will hopefully prevent a reoccurrence of this tragedy." - ( PA )