Dentist loses licence for a year after patient dies
A dentist has been struck off after one of his patients bled to death hours after he finished pulling out ten of her teeth.
Tushar Patel has been banned from working for a year after being found unfit to practice following a "catalogue of errors", a report said.
'Patient A' had advanced gum disease and experienced dentist Mr Patel removed all of her top teeth during two appointments within a week, it was heard.
The female patient told him she was taking blood-thinning medicine Warfarin for a rare blood condition that causes clotting.
Hours after her final appointment she went to A&E for bleeding, and died in hospital after collapsing at home with "bleeding from her mouth", a report said.
The General Dental Council was informed and a professional conduct hearing last week ruled his fitness to practice was impaired.
The GDC panel heard Mr Patel failed to discuss with her the complex needs and increased risk of bleeding because she was taking Warfarin.
It ruled he failed to “weigh up the risks” of his treatment and ignored guidance “well known to dentists”.
The GDC heard he didn't carry out checks in line with industry-standard guidelines to assess the patient’s risk of post-operative bleeding, or dress her wounds properly.
The report, published on Tuesday, said: “The committee has found you failed to adequately discuss or adequately record any discussions, with Patient A regarding her complex medical history.
“This was in spite of the fact Patient A had provided you with a full medical history questionnaire before you embarked on any treatment.”
Mr Patel extracted five of the patient’s teeth on July 13 and five teeth on July 18.
After having the final five teeth removed by Mr Patel at 3.15pm on June 18, 2017, the patient experienced extensive bleeding from the extraction sites, the report said.
Mr Patel accepted “the most serious consequences of his actions” and admitted the allegations put to him, the report said.
The GDC charged Mr Patel and found a total of eight charges relating to his treatment of Patient A. The panel found all of the charged were proved.
Mr Patel’s registration to practice was suspended for the maximum period available to the panel, 12 months.
He has expressed remorse and has apologised to the patient’s family, the GDC report said.
-Yahoo New UK
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