Radiographer struck off
A hospital radiographer who doctored an X-ray to hide a needle still in a child's foot, has been struck off by medical watchdogs.
Akbar Solaymani lost his job after a child was discharged from hospital with the object still stuck in the heel of her left foot.
A panel from the Health Professionals Council heard that on September 5 2006 Mr Solaymani X-rayed a child with a suspected foreign body lodged in her left foot.
Mr Solaymani, employed by Pennine Hospital's Acute NHS Trust in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, cropped the image so the pin was barely detectable in one view.
He then took an image of the child's right foot and filed it with the images of the left foot without telling anyone.
In a subsequent telephone conversation with the Accident and Emergency clinician who requested the X-rays, Mr Solaymani said the object in the X-ray was a paperclip he had used as a marker. As a result the child was discharged with the pin still in her foot.
Mr Solaymani did not attend and was not represented at the hearing in Manchester.
Panel Chair Elizabeth Metcalfe said: "The panel considers that in acting as he did Mr Solaymani deliberately acted in a way that he knew at the time conflicted with his responsibilities as a health professional.
"It therefore demonstrates misconduct. His behaviour was clearly not in the best interests of his patient."