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News & Knowledge » Doctor admits to failings which ‘fell seriously below the standard expected’
Dr. Dhulipala qualified in 2001, having trained in India and worked at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool between 2019 and 2020 before moving to Blackpool where she was employed as a registrar.
When baby Finnley was born at Blackpool Victoria Hospital on October 1, 2020, medics described him as “pale, floppy and not breathing”. Dr. Dhulipala was called and arrived eight minutes after he was born.
However, Dr. Dhulipala failed to carry out ‘standard neonatal procedures’ to protect his airway and administer oxygen. This was as Dr. Dhulipala incorrectly believed she had seen his chest rising and falling indicating that he was breathing.
Dr. Sunith Peiris arrived 31 minutes after Finnley was born and immediately questioned why he was not intubated. However there was a further delay, and by the time Finnley began to receive oxygen it was more than 50 minutes after he had been born.
A coroner in 2021 concluded Finnley was neglected by medics, and had it not been for the missed opportunities to treat him, he would have survived.
The General Medical Counsel, responsible for the register of medical practitioners in the UK, has brought a case of impairment by reason of misconduct against Dr. Dhulipala.
Thomas Cook-Smythe, counsel for the General Medical counsel, stated the actions “directly contributed to Finnley’s tragic death”. The panel further heard that Dr. Dhulipala was “out of her depth” in the delivery room and her failings fell “seriously below the standard of care expected”.
The hearing is being overseen by the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service, with the panel deciding if Dr. Dhulipala, who had admitted all six allegations against her, should be removed from the medical register.
Further reading
Hospital negligence – Oakwood Solicitors
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Max Bland graduated from Liverpool John Moores University in July 2022 with a 2:1. Having previously worked in Financial Mis-selling, he joined Oakwood Solicitors in January 2023 in the Medical Neglig…
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