A female radiograph that surprised colleagues about her incompetence claimed to have 23 years of experience, but she actually worked on a reception.
Smithha Johny applied to become a member of the register of the Health and Care Professions in 2021 after she had moved from her native India to the United Kingdom, claiming that English was her first language and that she had 23 years of experience in radiography.
But there were soon suspicions when she started working in January 2023 in the North Downs Hospital in Caterham, Surrey.
Mrs Johny was assigned a 'buddy' for the first few weeks to support her, but it soon became 'that she should be guided longer.
Her manager, Fernando Pinto, told a tribunal this week that the way Mrs. Johny was dealing with patients that she did not follow the correct procedures, but when he was confronted, Mrs Johny claimed that she had worked with a CT scanner in India, no X-ray photo.
In one case, Mr Pinto had presented himself as a patient to the X -ray that asked for a hip X -rays, but Mrs. Johny pointed the machines to his knee.
He told the tribunal that this could lead to 'unnecessary exposure', known as a break break, which would risk patient safety by increasing their chance of developing cancer.
Pinto added that Mrs Johny showed 'no knowledge' about the X -ray machine during the assessment and did not know what each of the buttons did on it.
Smithha Johny started working in January 2023 in the North Downs Hospital in Surrey, but only lasted a few months
He then asked her to perform an X -ray of a foot, the 'most basic' procedure, and she couldn't do it. Mrs Johny apparently did not know how to position the foot or machine correctly.
Only three months after the start in the Surrey Hospital, run by private health group Ramsay Healthcare, Mrs Johny was told that she could no longer practice as a radiograph during her review and handed her message.
The hospital then referred her to the Health and Care Professionals Council, which expressed concern about her 'lack of professional knowledge' and her control of English.
Mrs Johny had also failed her mandatory immediate life course, heard a tribunal, designed to help medical professionals recognize cardiac arrest in February of that year.
The course organizer told Mr Pinto that he did not believe that Mrs. Johny could understand what he said and 'completely unable to respond' in an emergency situation.
In another assessment performed by manager Mr Pinto, he deliberately gave her the wrong date of birth during a clinical scenario and she could not check it against her notes.
Mrs. Johny apparently did not know how he could perform 'the most basic procedure', an X -ray of a foot
The radiographer was also told to do a specific kind of X -ray scan, but she could not do it and was asked to identify a specific bone in her wrist, but she pointed to the wrong person, despite the fact that Mr Pinto advised her to judge that before the meeting.
Mr. Pinto said it was that Mrs. Johny could not recognize 'basic anatomy' and that he had expected better knowledge of someone at her level.
The manager then showed her an X -ray of a broken thigh and asked her to identify the problem, which she could not do, even though it was 'very clear' what the problem was.
At the end of the review Mr. Pinto asked Mrs. Johny “Are you really a radiograph?” And she said that in her previous role she had been 'more like a manager' and worked at the reception to check in patients who would then be assessed by nurses.
The panel discovered that Mrs Johny had misunderstood her level of experience when applying for the job at Ramsay Healthcare and there was a 'clear disconnection' between what she said she could do and her real skill level.
However, they concluded that her actions were 'naive' in contrast to unfairness and that the expectations were 'very different' than the remote part of India in which she had previously worked and she was trained in radiography at one point.
In terms of her English skills, they discovered that she had not misunderstood her assets by saying that it was her first language, but noticed that her test score was lower than the level needed for fluency.
In the decision to suspend Mrs. Johny, the panel determined that her actions reflect a 'lack of competence' instead of misconduct.
They said, 'There was a clear pattern of repeated failures [Ms Johny]Even after she was shown what she had to do and had given a considerable amount of support.
'Some progress was noticed in both [Ms Johny’s] Clinical skills and language, but by no means necessary to be able to qualify as competent in its role.
“However, the evidence suggested that she was enthusiastic, cheerful and friendly and it was clear to the panel that these were things of competence instead of misconduct.
'By not being able to prove its competence as a radiograph, patients with an unjustified risk of damage were brought, which was only avoided because she was constantly supervised.
'The panel therefore decided to impose a suspension assignment for a period of six months. This would mark the severity of the shortcomings, while it allows [Ms Johny] A period to think and hopefully start the process again … “
