Doctor admits holding laughing gas parties on wards at Ormskirk hospital
Jul 7 2009 by Our Correspondent, Liverpool Daily Post
A DOCTOR who inhaled “laughing gas†while on duty at a children’s A&E ward admitted he was fortunate he did not harm any of his patients.
Dr Jonathan Chahal used the medical anaesthetic Entonox, better known as gas and air, from a canister on four separate occasions at Ormskirk hospital.
The senior house officer paediatrician also persuaded four female nurses to inhale the gas in what were described as “Entonox partiesâ€, the General Medical Council heard.
The incidents took place in the summer of 2007 as Dr Chahal told his colleagues the drug, frequently used to alleviate pain in childbirth, was “fun†and “made you feel floaty†as they heard him giggling in the ward’s resuscitation room.
Under cross-examination from GMC counsel Craig Sephton, QC, yesterday, the doctor accepted his conduct was “clearly irresponsibleâ€.
Giving evidence at the Manchester hearing, he said: “I feel it was unbelievably foolish and I am lucky in a way I did not injure anyone, otherwise things could have been much worse.
“I was lucky there were no deliveries and no traumas brought in. My conduct was clearly irresponsible. There is no getting round that.â€
The disciplinary panel was previously told the manufacturers of Entonox, a mixture of nitrous oxide and oxygen, said users were recommended not to use machinery for at least 12 hours after consumption.
Dr Chahal, 33, said he did not appreciate at the time how wrong it was to take the gas.
He said: “Naively and stupidly, I did not regard it as a drug, but o course it is.â€
Jul 7 2009 by Our Correspondent, Liverpool Daily Post
A DOCTOR who inhaled “laughing gas†while on duty at a children’s A&E ward admitted he was fortunate he did not harm any of his patients.
Dr Jonathan Chahal used the medical anaesthetic Entonox, better known as gas and air, from a canister on four separate occasions at Ormskirk hospital.
The senior house officer paediatrician also persuaded four female nurses to inhale the gas in what were described as “Entonox partiesâ€, the General Medical Council heard.
The incidents took place in the summer of 2007 as Dr Chahal told his colleagues the drug, frequently used to alleviate pain in childbirth, was “fun†and “made you feel floaty†as they heard him giggling in the ward’s resuscitation room.
Under cross-examination from GMC counsel Craig Sephton, QC, yesterday, the doctor accepted his conduct was “clearly irresponsibleâ€.
Giving evidence at the Manchester hearing, he said: “I feel it was unbelievably foolish and I am lucky in a way I did not injure anyone, otherwise things could have been much worse.
“I was lucky there were no deliveries and no traumas brought in. My conduct was clearly irresponsible. There is no getting round that.â€
The disciplinary panel was previously told the manufacturers of Entonox, a mixture of nitrous oxide and oxygen, said users were recommended not to use machinery for at least 12 hours after consumption.
Dr Chahal, 33, said he did not appreciate at the time how wrong it was to take the gas.
He said: “Naively and stupidly, I did not regard it as a drug, but o course it is.â€
