A board found that a radiographer from Kerala was unable to perform simple techniques like X-raying a hand or foot that a radiographer” right out of education would be able to perform” and that she was putting the health of UK patients in danger. She was given a six-month suspension.
On her application to be registered with the health and care professionals council ( HCPC ) in 2021, Smitha Johny, an Indian national who had spent her time in India, stated that she had chosen English as her first language. Radiographers are required to have a UK employment registration with the country by laws. On her software to function as a radiographer at the private hospital in Surrey, North Downs Hospital, where she began working in January 2023, she even stated that English was her first speech. She added that she had 23 years of experience.
Johny had to retire, but she is now back in India.
However, the health and care professions court service discovered that she struggled to talk with patients and colleagues in English, was unable to discover simple biology, did not follow required guidelines, was unable to install an X-ray equipment, failed a required life support course, and misrepresented her experience. They claimed that she was “naive” and “did not know the objectives in the UK, which may be distinct from those where she was working in a rural part of India,” and that her achievement “reflected incompetence rather than “misconduct.”
Her collection manager, Fernando Pinto, presented himself as a person taking a leg X-ray because he was so worried about her efficiency. She pointed the device at his knee, never his leg, which was a rays breach that resulted in unnecessary exposure that could lead to cancer. Pinto claimed to the section that she had no idea what the buttons were for and that she had no idea how to position them. Additionally, she underreported that she was X-raying the right person by not asking him sufficient questions about his personal information.
She had no idea what a knee bone was, and she was able to recognize the scaphoid spine in the wrist, nor to recognize a fracture in the neck from an X-ray. Additionally, she failed the life support program because she had no idea what the teacher was saying.
When confronted with her subpar performance at her three-month assessment in April 2023, she claimed she was “more like a supervisor in her past position” and had worked at the hospital welcome office in India checking in patients. She added that she had used CT scanners rather than X-rays. Then it was announced that she would be given an unauthorized leave that could expire.
On April 24, 2023 she resigned.
Her manager contacted the HCPC on April 26, 2023, with concerns about her lack of professional knowledge and command of English. Additionally, the hospital contacted the home office, who gave her 60 days to leave the UK.
In a previous stage of the investigation, Johny claimed that the Indian X-ray machines were “entirely different from those at the hospital” and that racism was prevalent at work.
A Malayalam interpreter was required by Johny to appear at her virtual video hearing in March of this year. She claimed that she was ill and that her “family condition is very bad” while she was in India at the time and only showed up on the first day. She didn’t show up after that and didn’t submit any submissions.
