Doctor who misled Ebola screening staff is 'amazing'

A doctor who admits misleading other health professionals before nurse Pauline Cafferkey became ill with the Ebola virus is 'amazing', a colleague has told a tribunal.

Along with public health nurse Ms Cafferkey, Hannah Ryan was one of the first UK health professionals to travel to Sierra Leone to help during the Ebola outbreak that killed thousands in West Africa in 2014.

Another doctor volunteer, Sharon Irvine, told the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service on Tuesday: 'Hannah is amazing. She's one of the best doctors I have worked with ever.'

Raised temperature

The hearing in Manchester has heard that when the volunteers returned to the UK, Dr Ryan took Ms Cafferkey's temperature as they waited to be screened by Public Health England (PHE) staff, and 'acquiesced' in not reporting a raised temperature.

Ms Cafferkey was allowed to leave Heathrow Airport, but became seriously ill the next day.

Dr Ryan admits misleading health professionals carrying out the screening, but denies misconduct.

Ms Cafferkey had been due to give evidence on Tuesday, but the tribunal accepted a written statement from her instead. It was not read out at the hearing or released to the press.

The tribunal heard all the volunteers had worked in 'horrendous' conditions, wearing face masks and heavy, head-to-toe protective clothing in searing heat and working in pairs in case of fainting, while treating women, men and children dying from the disease.

'Crowded and chaotic'

When they arrived back in the UK on 28 December 2014 after two months away they were 'keen' to get back home to loved ones. But the PHE screening process at Heathrow Airport was 'shambolic', the hearing was told, with queues building up in the 'crowded, noisy and chaotic' quarantine area.

Dr Ryan took Ms Cafferkey's temperature, which was 38.2°C – above the 37.5°C threshold that would prompt further checks for Ebola infection. Dr Ryan said she was in a state of 'disbelief, fear and panic' at the raised reading and instead of alerting PHE staff, a lower temperature of 37.2°C was recorded.

She denies writing this lower temperature on Ms Cafferkey's screening form at Heathrow; instead she admits she 'acquiesced' in the wrong temperature being given.

Her counsel, Richard Booth QC, suggested it was another volunteer, nurse Donna Wood, who recorded the false temperature on the form.

Mr Booth asked Ms Wood: 'Did you say something along the lines of, "I'm going to write it down as 37.°2 and then we will get out of here"?'

Ms Wood replied: 'You are absolutely mistaken, I did not say that.'

Suspension

Last year, Ms Wood was suspended for two months after a Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) panel found she had suggested putting the lower temperature on the form and that her fitness to practise was impaired on public interest grounds. 

Ms Wood told Dr Ryan's tribunal: 'While I accept what the NMC's findings were, I don't necessarily agree.'

Ms Cafferkey was cleared of misconduct, as the NMC ruled her judgement would have been impaired by the developing illness.

Dr Ryan's tribunal continues.

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