A teenager from Cork had to undergo surgery to remove one of his testicles after a GP allegedly failed to identify a known medical emergency linked to a swollen testicle, a professional inquiry has been told.
Dr Alicia Marton Martinez faces several allegations of professional misconduct and poor performance concerning her treatment of two young patients while she was working as a locum doctor with SouthDoc, the out-of-hours GP service covering Cork and Kerry, three years ago, reports Breaking News.
These include an alleged failure to refer a three-week-old baby with a fever and mottled skin to hospital, who was later diagnosed with viral meningitis.
An expert witness told the inquiry that the infant could have died were it not for the determination of his parents, reports Breaking News.
Dr Marton Martinez, who graduated in medicine in Spain in 1988, was not present at the fitness-to-practise inquiry and has no legal representation at the Medical Council hearing.
In September 2023, she gave a voluntary undertaking to the High Court not to practise medicine until further notice, after the Medical Council sought an interim suspension order against her, reports Breaking News.
The GP is accused of failing to give adequate attention to the symptoms described by both patients’ parents and of not referring either case to an emergency department or escalating their care when required.
The mother of the Cork teenager – referred to as Patient A – said her 14-year-old son had complained early on the morning of October 10th, 2022, of a swollen testicle and severe pain, reports Breaking News.
She told the inquiry she had searched online for possible causes and packed a hospital bag, believing her son might be suffering from testicular torsion – a medical emergency caused by restricted blood flow to a testicle.
The woman testified that after contacting SouthDoc, she received a call an hour later from Dr Marton Martinez, who told her that her son’s symptoms were normal for a teenage boy, reports Breaking News.
The hearing was told that the locum advised using “a cold compress” on the affected area and taking Ibuprofen three times daily for a week.
The boy’s mother said she requested an in-person examination, as she found the GP “brisk and impatient” during the phone call, reports Breaking News.
She also said she had avoided mentioning testicular torsion to the doctor because she did not want to sound like “a Google doctor.”
The inquiry heard that the teenager was later examined at the SouthDoc clinic in Midleton, Co Cork, where the locum repeated her earlier advice, reports Breaking News.
His mother recalled that the appointment lasted only about two minutes, but she initially felt reassured that her son did not have testicular torsion.
She said she was abroad a week later when she learned that her son had been referred to Cork University Hospital, where he underwent surgery to remove a testicle after being “bowled over with pain,” reports Breaking News.
The mother acknowledged that the note written by Dr Marton Martinez, which stated “not real pain but discomfort,” might have reflected what her son had said.
The father of the three-week-old baby – referred to as Patient B – testified that he called SouthDoc on November 12th, 2022, as his son had developed a fever, was irritable, making grunting noises, feeding slowly, and had pale, mottled skin, reports Breaking News.
He said that he and his partner were deeply concerned about their baby’s symptoms.
However, he said that Dr Marton Martinez told them the symptoms did not appear very serious and asked if the baby had received Calpol, reports Breaking News.
Patient B’s father told the inquiry that the GP insisted a baby under two months could take Calpol, even after he repeatedly said he believed that was incorrect.
He said Dr Marton Martinez later admitted he was right after checking the information, reports Breaking News.
The man told the hearing that he lost confidence in her advice and requested a referral to another doctor.
The inquiry heard that another GP, Anas Matar, identified the baby’s symptoms as “red flags” and immediately referred them to Cork University Hospital for urgent care, reports Breaking News.
Patient B was diagnosed with viral meningitis and required several days of hospital treatment.
The baby’s father denied Dr Marton Martinez’s claims that he had been aggressive during the call or that he had suggested his son was nine years old, reports Breaking News.
In her correspondence with the Medical Council, Dr Marton Martinez stated that Patient A did not mention any pain in his genital area but said he felt “a bit uncomfortable,” which she described as “a very difficult symptom to interpret or to understand.”
She also said she had “a bit of a misunderstanding” with the father of Patient B, as her English “was not perfect,” reports Breaking News.
The GP explained that she mistakenly believed the patient was nine years old instead of nine days old, which was why she had asked about giving Calpol.
However, she claimed that the father “just went mad,” reports Breaking News.
Dr Marton Martinez said she became “a bit nervous” because the father grew “aggressive” and “threatening.”
She added that he decided within seconds that she was “not right or good for his son” and demanded to be transferred to another doctor, reports Breaking News.
The GP said she went directly to Dr Matar, who agreed to offer a second opinion once he was informed that a request had been made by the child’s father.
Expert witness Professor Tom O’Dowd told the inquiry there would have been a 90% chance of saving Patient A’s testicle if he had been referred to an emergency department, reports Breaking News.
Prof O’Dowd said the teenager had been left with a lifelong, entirely preventable disability.
He described it as “incompetent practice” for the GP to advise using a cold compress and pain relief for a week, reports Breaking News.
He added that such treatment was likely to worsen the patient’s discomfort.
Prof O’Dowd told the inquiry that the GP’s actions represented a serious failure to meet the expected professional standards of competence and knowledge, reports Breaking News.
He explained that testicular torsion is among the most widely recognised emergencies in general practice.
Prof O’Dowd said every competent GP should assume that any male aged 12–25 presenting with such symptoms is suffering from testicular torsion and should immediately refer them to an emergency department or a urologist, reports Breaking News.
He agreed with counsel Brian Gageby that Patient A’s symptoms should have “raised alarm bells,” noting that the diagnosis had effectively been “handed on a plate” by the boy’s mother and a triage nurse.
Prof O’Dowd said it was “indefensible” that Dr Marton Martinez diagnosed “orchitis” (a swollen testicle) yet failed to escalate care, reports Breaking News.
Regarding Baby B, he said the infant’s symptoms were extremely concerning and that he was “on the verge of circulatory collapse.”
Prof O’Dowd emphasised that doctors must be especially vigilant when treating babies due to the risk of infections such as meningitis, reports Breaking News.
He stated that Dr Marton Martinez had brought disgrace upon the profession and dishonoured both patients.
The inquiry was adjourned, reports Breaking News.
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