A consultant general surgeon at Ennis General Hospital is facing 12 allegations at a Medical Council inquiry following the death of a patient.
The inquiry relate to the case of a 39 year old women who was pregnant when first seen and who later died after a series of operations.
This medical council hearing relates to events that occurred between June and December 2008 and involved Dr Syed Naqvi – a consultant general surgeon at Clare’s County Hospital.
Its alleged that Dr Naqvi — failed to consider acute appendicitis as a diagnosis, but rather believed it to be inflammation of the gallbladder due to gallstones when patient S attended Ennis in June 2008.
She presented at the A&E Department in Clare in June 2008 complaining of abdominal pain on her right side and was 14 weeks pregnant.
She suffered a miscarriage in July due to septicaemia
After referral to the maternity hospital in Limerick and Limerick regional, the patient eventually underwent three operations under Dr Naqvi, on 22 November, on 3 December and 8 December 2008.
She died on 10 December of multi-organ failure secondary to sepsis, after being transferred from Ennis to Limerick
In the Medical Council inquiry it is alleged that Dr Naqvi made mistakes during several operations, and in the operation on 22 November he removed part of the patient’s large colon, beside the appendix.
It is also alleged that Dr Navqi failed to ensure the patient was adequately resuscitated after the last operation and that the surgeon failed to arrange her transfer to Limerick regional hospital in good time.
The inquiry is expected to last three days.
