Radiographer did a 'belly flop' on pregnant woman in Burnley, a health disciplinary hearing was told

Senu Sejoro then applied pressure onto the patient's abdomen as he pushed himself back onto his feet at the Briercliffe Road hospital in May 2015, the Health and Care Professions Council misconduct panel was told.

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The medic left another mother-to-be in tears after making 'umming' sounds during a scan, leading her to believe her baby was developing abnormally, it was claimed.

Line manager Julie White told the hearing she had Skyped with Mr Sejoro on two or three occasions as concerns had been raised about his capabilities, before calling him on May 5.

She said: "I was trying to observe him without causing alarm to the patient.

"The next time I looked he had done a belly flop on the patient and his reaction was to push up using the patient.

"He pushed himself off the patient with his hands.

"I don't know how it happened at the time he should have been putting the glue on the patient's stomach. He may have tripped over his feet or got his feet locked.

"It was a complete surprise, I have never seen anything like that before.

"I think it was a split second reaction to put his hands out and push himself up again. I was shocked.

"I was very conscious of the patient's reaction and I didn't want to interrupt."

The hearing was told the patient made a comment about the fall as she left. And when she called the clinic later she asked for a different radiographer.

Greg Fox-Smith, for the HCPC, said Nigeria-born Mr Sejoro joined the hospital in April 2015 and was on a six-month probationary period.

Another woman, who had a scan with Mr Sejoro at the Royal Blackburn Hospital, was left in tears, the panel heard.

Cross-examined by a telephone link, she said: "'Mr Sejoro never told us who he was, he just came to the waiting room and called my name.

"When we got into the scan room he didn't make any conversation with us and turned the monitor away from us so we couldn't see the baby on the screen.

"He didn't tell me what he was going to do, he just started doing it. He kept asking me 'are you sure you got the dates right?'

"He said the baby looked very small. He kept turning up the volume of the babies heart rate on the monitor louder and louder.

"He played it time and time again for what felt like six minutes.

"He kept making umming and erring noises and saying 'are you positive about the baby's dates?'

"I replied that I am pretty sure that my dates were correct. He tilted his head to the side and looked like he wasn't happy.

"I felt like there was something seriously wrong with my baby."

The hearing was told she was able to confirm there was nothing wrong with her baby half an hour later, when she saw her consultant.

She confirmed she was left 'distraught' and had not wanted to see Mr Sejoro for a further appointment.

Phillipa Staines, deputy clinical leader for ultrasound at Burnley General Hospital, described how he failed to measure the size of a foetus correctly in July 2015.

She said: 'He was doing a scan on one of the patients who had a foetus with late gestation. In this case the baby was noted to be small and a measurement of its size was requested.

"Mr Sejoro conducted the initial scan and I was asked to repeat it. Any size above 10cms is normal. I recorded the baby as 8.5cms and Mr Sejoro had recorded it as 15cms, which is the normal size of a foetus at that stage.

"Mr Sejoro hadn't recorded the result accurately.

"Inaccurately recording the foetus as above 10cms means that the clinician who sees the patient next believes it is okay to continue with the pregnancy.

"I am a very experienced sonographer, if I got a very different measurement from any of my colleagues then the less experienced colleague would have their readings checked."

Mr Sejoro, who is not in attendance at the London hearing, is accused of falling onto the first patient, causing distress to the second patient and failing to perform a growth test adequately on the third patient.

The hearing continues.