This is a true story.
Many years ago, when I worked a temp job as a clinic assistant prior to applying for medical school, I met a brilliant consultant surgeon.
He was highly regarded by all and known to have excellent skills. Little wonder that he soon became the head of his department.
When he treated my mother years later when I'd already become a medical officer, we were both extremely happy with the results.
Not long after, something unfortunate occurred, resulting in him stepping down as HOD, then leaving for private practice.
He bumped into a close friend of mine - completely by chance - who happens to be his junior college classmate. Upon hearing about her husband's condition, he offered to treat him at his clinic, which was located at a private hospital.
The procedure was done in the day surgery theatre. Took 30 minutes, under general anaesthesia (GA), after which the patient was discharged.
Cost: $6000
That very night, my friend's husband complained of severe pain over the surgical site, with recurrent bleeding and a low-grade fever. The next morning, my friend called the surgeon's clinic, only to find out that he'd left for an overseas trip and would not return for another week. When she called his handphone directly, he told her there was nothing to worry about, and for her husband to continue taking the antibiotics he'd described.
Over the next few days, the pain, bleeding and fever worsened. One night, my friend's husband developed bleeding which was so severe that he lost consciousness and collapsed in the bathroom. I received a frantic phone call at home at 1am as my usually calm and composed friend sobbed and begged me for advice.
I told her to bring her husband to the nearest public hospital's emergency room immediately, and arranged for a senior colleague to attend to him.
The patient was admitted that very night, and remained warded for a week, during which he received IV antibiotics, underwent exploration under GA and, according to the team caring for him, required a "major clean-up".
Upon returning to Singapore, the private surgeon visited the patient in the ward, coincidentally meeting me as I was flipping through the case-notes. He looked frightened, and asked if he could take a quick look as well. I decided to oblige.
His name was written on the first page of the clerking notes.
My friend's husband recovered fully after his stay in the public hospital, and his symptoms haven't recurred since. Understandably, the couple's opinion of this once-esteemed surgeon has plummeted, and although they considered filing a formal complaint with the Singapore Medical Council, they subsequently changed their minds and the surgeon didn't suffer any consequences.
One may never know why this surgeon behaved the way he did. Was it a result of arrogance, greed, lack of regulation in private practice? It's unfathomable that he would treat an old friend's spouse in such a callous manner. It's even more unfathomable that he got away scot-free.
The reality is, lots of errant doctors escape disciplinary proceedings purely out of luck. Either the patient / relative is the forgiving sort, nobody finds out about the mistake, or the incident gets covered up.
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5 comments:
Wasn't sure if you had snipped parts of the narrative out, but it isn't very clear what the problem was. Did he make a surgical error, - leave a swab in or something? Or was he just rude/dismissive?
I think poor outcomes for this particular surgeon might have happened regardless of whether he was working in private/public sector.
Humans are not robots/computers and there's bound to be lapses in judgement. It is almost a statistically certainty for any practising professionals.
Perhaps he should have given the advice to his patients to be checked upon by his other colleagues during his absence when they do not feel well.
gigamole: Yes, unfortunately I can't post all the details for various reasons, but it wasn't something as serious as leaving a swab in a body cavity.
He wasn't rude, but certainly came across as dismissive. I think not informing a college friend that one is going overseas during the friend's spouse's initial recovery period is very irresponsible.
Anonymous: And while I fully agree that even the best doctors make mistakes, I do sometimes wonder if private practice is as closely monitored and regulated as the public sector's, i.e. are procedures being performed for the right indications, are post-op complications scrutinized at M&M rounds, etc?
I'm not saying public hospitals are perfect, but I do believe in regulatory measures, especially when the private sector charges substantially higher fees for presumably better-quality ( aka better-service ) healthcare.
Quite clearly public sector institutional practice has got very different level of professional coverage as compared to private sector. I think this something that one must accept. This would be one good reason to stay with the public sector,...if you can put up with the long waiting times.
That he should do the right thing and keep his patient fully advised about his accessibility is without doubt. But there may be mitigating factors here, e.g. if this were a really minor surgery for which the risk of complications / post surgical difficulties etc are so infrequent and unexpected, or if his absence was a pretty last moment decision.
Admittedly, if I were the patient I'd be pretty pissed, and probably would not recommend him to any of my friends. But beyond that I think one objectively would have to consider if this were an isolated lapse in judgment, or if he is a habitual offender. Obviously one would tend to be more forgiving with the former.
My friend's grandmother was got admitted in a private hspt (won't say where) recently for a Rt total knee replacement.
Surgeon opened up the Lt knee instead.
Her grandmother no longer walks now.
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