A HEALTH BOARD was right to sack a mental health worker after concern arose over his English skills, performance and patient safety, the Employment Relations Authority has ruled.
Nazir Maher worked for Counties Manukau District Health Board as a medical officer of special scale in psychiatry — a role below a full psychiatrist — from November 1, 2004, till his dismissal on June 24, 2005.
The authority backed the decision to sack him in a decision that has just been released.
It heard that Dr Maher, who qualified in Pakistan in 1987, had practised medicine in New Zealand for seven years, working in Tauranga, Wanganui, and Invercargill.
After starting at Counties Manukau, Dr Maher learned of restrictions placed on him by the Medical Council. These involved supervision and monitoring during patient interviews. A consultant psychiatrist, Roger Elliot, oversaw Dr Maher.
Dr Elliot’s report questioned Dr Maher’s competence. “He would need to be considerably more skilled in his use of the English language,” he said.
Dr Maher’s work needed intensive monitoring, akin to that given to an intern, Dr Elliot said.
In February, 2005, fears for patient safety arose when Dr Maher failed to record a change he made to a patient’s medication. He could not recall making the change, despite being shown a bottle of medicine with his name as the prescribing doctor.
The head of Counties Manukau’s core adult mental health services, Verity Humberstone, concluded: “A serious risk was posed to the safe treatment of and management of clients in Dr Maher’s care.”
Dr Maher was accused of misleading the board about his performance at Wanganui. A disciplinary meeting found his denial amounted to serious misconduct, and that the restrictions imposed by the Medical Council meant he could not perform the duties he was supposed to.
At the authority, Dr Maher sought his job back, compensation for distress and reimbursement of lost wages. But authority member Marija Urlich found his dismissal was justified, especially given the high level of trust needed in his position.
(c) 2007 Dominion Post. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.
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