Alarm over locum doctor’s negligence at University Hospital of Northern Norway leads to license revocation

In late July, an alarming incident was uncovered at the University Hospital of Northern Norway (UNN), involving a temporary locum doctor who spent mere seconds reviewing a series of X-ray results. Following an internal investigation, the hospital found significant errors in 12 of 560 cases, leading to the deaths of five patients. However, the review did not establish any direct link between the misinterpreted X-ray findings and the patients’ deaths.

The situation prompted UNN to report the matter to the Troms and Finnmark County Governor, which subsequently drew the attention of the Norwegian Directorate of Health. Recently, the Directorate announced the revocation of the doctor’s medical license, as confirmed by the physician’s attorney. At this time, the lawyer declined to comment further on the case or its potential appeal.

The locum physician had been responsible for counter-signing CT scans, particularly from cancer patients, over several years. Documentation reveals that the physician often took only a few seconds to sign off on the images, a practice that came to light years later. The Directorate indicated that such actions endangered patient safety and labeled the doctor a “threat to healthcare.”

The issue first surfaced in summer 2023 when a radiologist at UNN noticed discrepancies during the signing process. A follow-up examination revealed that the locum had missed several critical pathologies in imaging studies and unusually spent between 7 and 26 seconds per case.

Furthermore, this physician was working full-time simultaneously at a hospital in Denmark, complicating the situation. Throughout this period, the doctor reported working an average of 38 hours per week for UNN. Authorities in Sweden are also investigating the doctor, and they will be notified of the revocation of the medical license in Norway.