
By RTE News - 31.01.2025 - [Adrian Peconcillo] - [IRELAND] A former radiographer at a Dublin hospital has been found guilty of professional misconduct over his inappropriate behaviour in carrying out a chest X-ray on a young female patient whom he later tried to contact via social media.
Adrian Peconcillo is facing the imposition of conditions on remaining a registered radiographer after a fitness-to-practise inquiry heard he has not worked for almost two years after he was dismissed by Tallaght University Hospital as a result of the incident.
The inquiry before a fitness-to-practise committee of CORU – the regulatory body of health and social care professionals – arose following a complaint about Mr Peconcillo's behaviour by Laura Gannon, the radiography services manager at TUH.
The committee found an allegation proven that the radiographer had acted in a manner that was not clinically justified or appropriate when he was carrying out a chest X-ray on a 16-year-old female at TUH on 25 January 2023.
The inquiry heard that the patient had come out of the changing area undressed from the waist up and covering her chest due to the failure of Mr Peconcillo to provide her with a hospital gown prior to her undressing.
The radiographer, an Irish citizen who comes originally from the Philippines, was also accused of looking at her in a forward-facing manner whilst her back was against the X-ray board and later inviting her to look at her X-ray while she remained undressed.
Counsel for CORU, Neasa Bird BL, claimed Mr Peconcillo’s actions had taken place in circumstances where he knew or ought to have known that the patient was 16 years old.
The inquiry heard he had also sent the teenager one or more follow requests to her Instagram account on the same date.
Ms Bird said the requests were inappropriate as there was no clinical reason for sending them.
Counsel for the radiographer, Matthew Jolley BL, told the inquiry that Mr Peconcillo accepted the allegations and expressed remorse for his actions.
The inquiry heard that the radiographer had been suspended by TUH after the teenager’s parents had made a complaint to the hospital.
Mr Peconcillo was subsequently dismissed by TUH in April 2023 following an internal inquiry. The fitness-to-practise committee heard he has not worked as a radiographer since.
However, it rejected an application by Mr Jolley to bring the inquiry to a conclusion on the basis of undertakings to be given by Mr Peconcillo about his future conduct.
The committee’s chairperson, Geraldine Feeney, said the allegations against the registrant were proven and constituted professional misconduct as well as breaches of the Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics for radiographers.
The committee ruled the seriousness of the proven allegations required some form of sanction.
Ms Feeney said the committee had considered suspension for a specific period to be an appropriate sanction but decided not to recommend it in the circumstances where he had not worked as a radiographer for almost two years.
She said recommended conditions to be attached to Mr Peconcillo’s continued registration would be notified to him in due course and would be considered by the council of CORU for determination.
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article and were abused in state run medical and health facilities, you can contact Dignity4Patients, whose helpline is open Monday to Thursday 10am to 4pm.