Nigerian 'Doctor' found guilty of professional misconduct

Saltour Sossiez

EITHNE DONNELLAN Health Correspondent

A DOCTOR who falsely claimed on his CV that he had nearly 20 months’ surgical experience at a hospital in Nigeria before he took up a job at St Luke’s hospital in Kilkenny was found guilty of professional misconduct yesterday.

The Medical Council’s fitness to practise committee heard that when Dr Okwu Timothy Okwu (35) took up the job in Kilkenny in July 2008 as part of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) two-year basic surgical training scheme, it was noted his experience in surgery didn’t match his CV. He behaved like someone with little or no experience in the field.

However, when consultant surgeon Ian Wilson, who was supervising his training, asked him about this he said it was because the system in Ireland was very different to that in Nigeria. Mr Wilson gave him the benefit of the doubt.
In November 2008, however, it came to light during a routine check by Dan McCarthy, medical manpower manager at St Luke’s, that information on Dr Okwu’s CV was inconsistent with information on his Garda clearance certificate.

That certificate stated he was residing in Dublin in March-April 2006 when his CV claimed he was working as a registrar-senior house officer at the Federal Staff Hospital in Nigeria from April 2006 to December 2007. The CV also gave a long list of surgical cases he would have had experience of, including appendix, breast lumps, hernias and ulcers.
Furthermore, the inquiry heard when Dr Okwu filled out a form for the Medical Council in May 2006, he never mentioned the Federal Staff Hospital but said he was working at a different clinic in Nigeria in April 2006.

In evidence Dr Okwu, who graduated in Nigeria in 2002, said he worked at both hospitals at the same time. He admitted the information in his CV was wrong, but said it was “an honest mistake” in that he was due to work at the Federal Staff Hospital to train in surgery between April 2006 and December 2007, but three weeks into the contract he decided to take study leave and travel to Ireland to pursue his training.
He said it was normal practice in Nigeria to state the full duration of a contract on a CV even if it hadn’t been completed due to study leave. The operations listed on his CV were ones he was “exposed to”, he said.

He apologised and said he had no intention to deceive. It was a pure “typographical error”.
The inquiry was told the RCSI, which had interviewed him for the Kilkenny job, ended his training scheme after six months in December 2008 after learning of the discrepancies in his application. Prof Oscar Traynor of the RCSI said the information in his CV would have been a factor in him gaining a place on the scheme when he was interviewed in February 2008, as there were about 210 applicants for 135 places. He was placed 86th.
He did not accept the suggestion Dr Okwu had made an honest mistake. Neither did Mr Wilson.
Mr Wilson said he had never come across such a case before but had unfortunately seen another similar experience since. In general terms, he added, Dr Okwu was “quite a diligent guy” and was motivated, but was deficient in operative skills. He told the RCSI in November 2008 he was satisfactory with some caveats and suitable for further training.
Dr Okwu said he had tried to get several jobs since his training scheme had ended. He applied for jobs in Limerick, Drogheda and Portlaoise and was offered posts but then somebody gave a reference that he was “dangerous”, he said, and he was not given the jobs. Recently took up a job as a senior house officer in Cavan, where he works with a general surgeon.
There were no clinical incidents as a result of Dr Okwu’s practice in Kilkenny but concerns were expressed by nurses who observed him at close quarters.
The fitness to practise committee found him guilty of professional misconduct and recommended he be censured. His name will remain on the medical register.




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