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Radiologist fined for failing to diagnose facial fracture
By Mustafa Shafawi | Posted: 26 January 2011 1850 hrs
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SINGAPORE : A radiologist who had failed to diagnose a serious facial fracture on a patient some five years ago has been fined S$3,000 by the Singapore Medical Council.
Dr Bertrand Ang Wei Leng was also censured and ordered to pay the costs of the disciplinary inquiry.
The disciplinary committee was of the view that Dr Ang's mistake was one of a fundamental nature and committed out of indifference.
It fell grossly short of the standard observed or approved by members of the profession.
The disciplinary committee concluded that Dr Ang did not do a systematic review of the X-ray image and heavily relied on the clinical notes.
By doing so, it said Dr Ang had committed a fundamental error in his duty as a radiologist.
The failure to carry out a systematic review by Dr Ang also portrayed indifference.
In meting out the punishment, the disciplinary committee said it took into account several mitigating factors including the fact that the error was made in the earlier part of Dr Ang's career for which he has expressed remorse, and that he had no previous record in his otherwise blemish-free career of 12 years.
- CNA/al