Council punishes 13 health workers

By Wezzie Gausi: The Medical Council of Malawi (MCM) has found 13 healthcare practitioners and health facility managers guilty of professional misconduct involving negligence, forgery, unethical conduct and failures that compromised patient safety. The council heard 21 disciplinary cases from public and private health facilities. Thirteewn resulted in guilty verdicts, seven in not guilty verdicts and one was referred. MCM Registrar and Chief Executive Officer Wisdom Zolowere said 17 of the cases came from public health facilities and four from private facilities. Among the most serious cases was that of Duncan Chifuniro Banda, a medical assistant at Bwaila Hospital, who was found guilty of inducing labour using an excessively high dose of misoprostol, performing a procedure beyond his scope of practice without supervision and selling the drug without authorisation. The council ordered him to restart an 18-month internship, refund K15,000 to the complainant, undergo further professional training and pay half of the investigation costs. The council also deregistered Sydney Mkandawire, an intern clinical officer at Chitipa District Hospital, for two and a half years after finding him guilty of submitting falsified internship reports and forging a signature. Dr Victor Matumbo, principal medical officer at Chitipa District Hospital, was suspended for two and a half years after being found guilty of approving the falsified internship reports. At Good Hope Private Hospital, an obstetrician, a clinical officer and the hospital's managing director were found guilty of conducting and overseeing surgical procedures without obtaining patients' informed consent. The council issued written warnings, imposed fines and ordered ethics training, while directing the hospital to strengthen its consent procedures. Kamuzu Central Hospital clinical officer Andrew Master Mwale was found guilty of failing to consult a pathologist despite the medico-legal complexity of a post-mortem examination. Health rights activist Maziko Matemba welcomed the disciplinary action, saying it demonstrated the council's commitment to protecting patients and promoting professionalism. "Medical professionals should always remember that they are entrusted with people's lives and must discharge their duties diligently and professionally," Matemba said. He said accountability was essential to achieving universal health coverage. "For Malawi to achieve universal health coverage, there is a need for a good working relationship between people and health personnel," Matemba said.

WIRE — By Wezzie Gausi: The Medical Council of Malawi (MCM) has found 13 healthcare practitioners and health facility managers guilty of professional misconduct involving negligence, forgery, unethical conduct and failures that compromised patient safety. The council heard 21 disciplinary cases from public and private health facilities. Thirteewn resulted in guilty verdicts, seven in not guilty verdicts and one was referred. MCM Registrar and Chief Executive Officer Wisdom Zolowere said 17 of the cases came from public health facilities and four from private facilities. Among the most serious cases was that of Duncan Chifuniro Banda, a medical assistant at Bwaila Hospital, who was found guilty of inducing labour using an excessively high dose of misoprostol, performing a procedure beyond his scope of practice without supervision and selling the drug without authorisation. The council ordered him to restart an 18-month internship, refund K15,000 to the complainant, undergo further professional training and pay half of the investigation costs. The council also deregistered Sydney Mkandawire, an intern clinical officer at Chitipa District Hospital, for two and a half years after finding him guilty of submitting falsified internship reports and forging a signature. Dr Victor Matumbo, principal medical officer at Chitipa District Hospital, was suspended for two and a half years after being found guilty of approving the falsified internship reports. At Good Hope Private Hospital, an obstetrician, a clinical officer and the hospital's managing director were found guilty of conducting and overseeing surgical procedures without obtaining patients' informed consent. The council issued written warnings, imposed fines and ordered ethics training, while directing the hospital to strengthen its consent procedures. Kamuzu Central Hospital clinical officer Andrew Master Mwale was found guilty of failing to consult a pathologist despite the medico-legal complexity of a post-mortem examination. Health rights activist Maziko Matemba welcomed the disciplinary action, saying it demonstrated the council's commitment to protecting patients and promoting professionalism. "Medical professionals should always remember that they are entrusted with people's lives and must discharge their duties diligently and professionally," Matemba said. He said accountability was essential to achieving universal health coverage. "For Malawi to achieve universal health coverage, there is a need for a good working relationship between people and health personnel," Matemba said.

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