GP failed to take proper medical history

A GP who faced six allegations of poor professional performance, has been cleared of all but one by a Medical Council fitness-to-practise inquiry.

Elements of the case against Dr Anthony Enobo Akpekpe (52), from Co Laois, were described by his counsel, Ross Maguire SC, as “desperately unfair”.

But Dr Akpekpe, who worked for a GP locum service, Doctor on Duty, in Dublin, was found to have performed poorly by failing to take an adequate medical history.

He visited Patrick Lowe (74) at his home in Monkstown, Co Dublin, on September 13th 2010 and diagnosed a tummy bug. Mr Lowe died two days later and an autopsy showed he died inhaling faecal matter after vomiting, as a hernia had obstructed his bowel.

JP McDowell, for the Medical Council, said Dr Akpekpe had failed to take an adequate medical history, or to carry out an adequate medical examination and that he had not communicated adequately with the patient’s sister Elizabeth about the need for follow-up treatment or admission to hospital if things did not improve.

It was claimed Dr Akpekpe gave a different account of his treatment of Mr Lowe to the council than he had given his duty doctor and that he did not keep an adequate record of the visit. It was also said he had failed to identify himself to Ms Lowe and wrote a prescription without his Medical Council number and with an illegible signature.

The committee found four of the allegations were not proven but it found the doctor had failed to taken an adequate medical history and provided two different accounts of the treatment given. The second action was not found to amount to poor professional performance.

The committee will make a recommendation about whether a sanction should be imposed.