An A&E doctor has been struck off after misdiagnosing a woman hours before she died and trying to cover up his mistake. Dr Allen Demanya lied to a coroner after the death of a patient at Royal Glamorgan Hospital near Talbot Green, a medical tribunal found.
A previous hearing was told that Dr Demanya was working as a locum middle-grade doctor at the A&E in the early hours of February 26, 2019, when the woman arrived by ambulance. The 75-year-old’s symptoms included diarrhoea, fever, a fast heart rate and low blood pressure. A nurse wrote a note that the woman had “possible sepsis”.
Dr Demanya examined the patient at 3am and prescribed medication. At around 4am the patient fell off her trolley and was found on the floor of her cubicle by a nurse. Dr Demanya was among the staff who treated her during the night. At 7am another doctor expressed concern over her condition. The woman died at 12.40am the following day.
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Expert witness Dr Victor Ameh told the tribunal that Dr Demanya made a “reasonable” diagnosis of gastroenteritis — a potentially serious infection of the abdomen — but failed to diagnose sepsis. And Dr Michael Atkinson, who was working in the A&E that night, said Dr Demanya failed to let him know the “gravity” of the woman’s condition.
When the inquest took place in 2020, Dr Demanya told a coroner he had prescribed antibiotics after his 3am assessment of the patient, as well as intravenous fluids and paracetamol. But a nurse said that when she administered the paracetamol, there was no prescription for antibiotics written up.
The tribunal found Dr Demanya did not prescribe antibiotics until almost three hours after the initial assessment. He also failed to include a catheter in the treatment plan. Dr Demanya retrospectively changed his treatment plan to give the “false impression” that it had included antibiotics and catheter use, the tribunal heard.
The panel heard that Dr Demanya later crossed out the prescription for antibiotics, “possibly at the point he had begun to realise that there were questions being raised about his treatment”. He had a “clear intention” to mislead the coroner in the inquest, the tribunal found.
Dr Demanya spent time in training positions at hospitals in Ghana before moving to the UK. From 2004 he worked at Hillingdon Hospital in London, alongside locum work at other hospitals including the Royal Glamorgan. In 2022 he was offered a locum consultant position at Hillingdon Hospital — “a long-term locum role which he has held since”, the tribunal was told earlier this year.
The General Medical Council argued the woman could possibly have been saved if given appropriate treatment. Christopher Mellor, representing the doctor, said his client had done a “considerable amount” of courses including on sepsis management, referrals and ethical standards since his misconduct, despite having denied the allegations. The barrister also pointed to the doctor’s “previously unblemished” medical career of nearly 20 years.
In the latest hearing the panel decided to strike Dr Demanya from the medical register. Its chairman Gerry Wareham acknowledged the doctor had shown evidence of “insight” into his actions, but added that he had “seriously undermined public confidence in the profession”. The panel also judged him a “risk to public safety”.
A spokesperson for Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board said: “Dr Demanya has never been an employee of Cwm Taf Morgannwg UHB, and no longer works with us in a locum capacity.”
Sarah Carter is a health and wellness expert residing in the UK. With a background in healthcare, she offers evidence-based advice on fitness, nutrition, and mental well-being, promoting healthier living for readers.