A radiographer at the Nottingham Breast Institute has been struck off after a tribunal found that her conduct during mammograms caused physical and emotional harm to patients.
Oluwaseyi Idowu performed screening and symptomatic mammograms at the institute, which is part of Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust. She was referred to a Health and Care Professions Tribunal Service misconduct hearing after several reports about her conduct toward patients, The Independent reported on October 23.
Patients described pain and distress during their exams, according to the report. One patient said she suffered cuts, friction burns, and pain after Idowu failed to release compression, and another said her breasts were compressed three times without an image being taken. A colleague said she saw white marks on a patient’s breast after Idowu grabbed and pulled it.
Idowu did not attend the proceedings. The panel found that her conduct was serious and “fell seriously below the expected standards” of a registered radiographer, and that she had failed to show insight or remediation. It concluded that a striking-off order “was the only way in which the public could be protected.”
