A locum doctor allegedly failed to refer a three-week old boy, who was later diagnosed with viral meningitis, to an emergency department, a fitness-to-practise inquiry has heard.
The Medical Council hearing, held on Monday, related to Dr Alicia Marton Martinez, with an address in Spain, who was a locum at the SouthDoc treatment centre in Midleton, Co Cork.
It was also alleged that she failed to diagnose testicular torsion in a teenage boy, who subsequently had to have a testicle removed.
It is alleged that the doctor’s conduct amounts to poor professional performance. It is also alleged that failure to refer both patients to the emergency department amounts to professional misconduct.
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The inquiry heard evidence from Witness A, the mother of the teenage boy, and one of the complainant’s, that on October 8th, 2022, her son, who was then 14, was complaining of lower abdominal pain and a swollen testicle.
After contacting a receptionist at SouthDoc, the woman explained the symptoms her child had to Dr Marton Martinez, who phoned her back.
It was alleged that Dr Marton Martinez then advised Witness A that it was normal for teenage boys to have a swollen testicle, that a cold compress should be applied and that he take a course of Ibuprofen for one week.
However, as Witness A preferred that her son, patient A, would be seen, his groin area was examined by Dr Marton Martinez at SouthDoc in Midleton later that morning.
The doctor then repeated her earlier advice and, said Witness A, said it was typical for teenage boys to have a swollen testicle.
Dr Marton Martinez made a clinical finding of orchitis, an inflammation of the testicle, and noted that the patient was in discomfort rather than in real pain.
However, the following Thursday, Witness A, who was abroad, was told by her sister that patient A was “bowled over with pain”.
After being referred immediately by SouthDoc to Cork University Hospital (CUH), where he was diagnosed with testicular torsion, his left testicle was removed.
The father of the then three-week-old boy, Witness B, said he told Dr Marton Martinez on the evening of November 12th, 2022 that his son had a fever, a temperature of 37.8 degrees and, among other symptoms, was feeding more slowly, was quite pale and had a mottled appearance to his skin.
Witness B said the response of Dr Marton Martinez, who was not present at the inquiry and was not represented, was that the symptoms did not sound very serious. She asked had he given Calpol to the baby.
As Calpol can only be given to children of two months and older, Witness B said he “lost confidence” in Dr Marton Martinez. He drove his wife and child to SouthDoc in Midleton, where another doctor referred his son to CUH.
The infant was treated “very urgently” and diagnosed with viral meningitis, he said.
The inquiry heard evidence as to Dr Marton Martinez’s response to the allegations, albeit in the context of other proceedings, including that Witness B was aggressive towards her, which the witness denies, and that she thought his child was nine-years-old.
Brian Gageby BL, for the chief executive of the Medical Council, said each of the allegations against Dr Marton Martinez amounted to poor professional performance.
He said Prof Tom O’Dowd, the expert witness for the chief executive, said in his evidence that failure to refer patient A and patient B to the emergency department amounted to professional misconduct.
The inquiry continues.
