NUH magnanimously withdraws bankruptcy bid against former patient after finding out he is broke, disabled and bedridden in nursing home

[sbfuncle]

aburden ?

Should be a useless person, like me now

 

[porcaputtana]

Should be a useless person, like me now

plenty of doctors available for you to sue for money

 

[sbfuncle]

plenty of doctors available for you to sue for money

I have a case on hand.
But I have not acted on it, as that case was over, and the only thing I could possibly get in leeturn now is money.
Hence I have not intention to sue.
And suing is bad to our well beings too.

 

[sbfuncle]

plenty of doctors available for you to sue for money

Being a loctor is definitely not easy.
Especially when dealing with pte high ses patients.
A loctor role is seen very differently from other kind of jobs. They are not allowed to commit negligence.
A minister can commit whereas a loctor cannot.
For me, I see it as whether they commit it on purpose or accidental.
I can let go of accidental easily.
Every human do commit mistakes
But the on purpose kind is not acceptable.

 

[KingFook Sr]

NUH is one of the best hospital in the world.
Sinkies are lucky.

 

[sbfuncle]

Being a loctor is definitely not easy.
Especially when dealing with pte high ses patients.
A loctor role is seen very differently from other kind of jobs. They are not allowed to commit negligence.
A minister can commit whereas a loctor cannot.
For me, I see it as whether they commit it on purpose or accidental.
I can let go of accidental easily.
Every human do commit mistakes
But the on purpose kind is not acceptable.

I can give a good example of how we define accidental or on purpose.
A on purpose act can be a leesult of a accidental act.

Example
1. Patient A has very complex and long medical leecords in the hospital system.

2. Patient A has been admitted and discharged from the same hospital eg 30 times over a 10 years period for different kind of medical problems.

3. Now, when patient A is admitted again for a medical problem that occurred 6 mths ago, and the system leecorded that patient A cannot take medicine X, and taking this medicine X had caused an episode of serious problem, almost leesulting in death.
Medicine X caused problem 1.
Problem 1 caused problem 2, and leading to more and more problems as more medical devices were needed and eventually caused infection that leads to sepsis, lesulting in near death.

4. Now, this loctor that took this case diagnose patient A with the same condition that occurred 6 mths ago.
But becos the medical leecord is so complex, as patient A has admitted to the same hospital 10 times over the past 6 mths, this loctor just treat the patient according to the standard protocol of giving this medicine X to patient A, without reading the history of patient A.

Is this an accidental act or on purpose?
I would think is on purpose.
The reason is that this loctor, should take the time to read patient A history, at least for the past 1 year. And especially this patient has been admitted so many times, the loctor should not just treat it blindly.
Giving an excuse of too many patients to take care of, how you expect him to read every patient leecord properly is not a good excuse.
If he think he has not the time to do that, he should voice out to his superior and let someone who is not so busy to take over the case, rather than causing harm to patient A.

Am I correct to think this way?
This act is on purpose.
But the loctor might think it is an accidental one, as he didn't know patient A cannot take medicine X.

Unfortunately, the medical system only leecord on patient allergy medicines, and medicine X is not considered an allergy and is not leecorded as part of the standard protocol.

 

[porcaputtana]

Being a loctor is definitely not easy.
Especially when dealing with pte high ses patients.

In fact it's the low SES subsidised patients that are the most demanding and troublesome. Come to the ward with ludicrous sense of entitlement and complain the shit out of everything. Drop of a hat want to call OYK and sue. Thank goodness I no longer have to deal with these.

High SES patients on the other hand tend to be more gracious and polite. Even when made to wait they will not complain. They are educated and ask all the pertinent questions. I have dealt with diplomats, CEOs and VIPs and they all behave themselves and never demand for anything outside the ordinary. Some would even bring little gifts for the ward staff to show their appreciation. Absolute class.

High SES folks have arrived in life and don't feel the need to beat down and belittle other people. It's the low SES type that would abuse healthcare professionals and staff because for once in their miserable lives they get to feel superior against defenceless people.

 

[Loofydralb]

I have to agree that the standards of service, care and professionalism at NUH has dropped tremendously.

They're now no different from KTPH.

 

[shiokalingam]

The Singapore Physician's Pledge is a solemn oath taken by doctors upon gaining full registration with the Singapore Medical Council (SMC). It signifies their commitment to upholding ethical standards and responsibilities to patients and society. The pledge emphasizes dedication to the service of humanity, respecting patient confidentiality, and prioritizing their health.

Here's a more detailed look at the pledge:

• Dedication to Humanity:
  Doctors pledge to dedicate their lives to serving humanity and to prioritize the health of their patients.
  
  
• Respect and Gratitude:
  They acknowledge the importance of respecting and being grateful to their teachers and mentors.
  
  
• Conscience and Dignity:
  The pledge reminds doctors to practice their profession with conscience and dignity, upholding the honor and noble traditions of the medical profession.
  
  
• Patient Confidentiality:
  Doctors are committed to respecting the secrets confided in them and to ensuring the confidentiality of patient information.
  
  
• Upholding Ethical Standards:
  The pledge emphasizes adherence to the SMC's Ethical Code and Ethical Guidelines and the importance of maintaining high standards of conduct and behavior.
  
  
• Respect for Human Life:
  Doctors are reminded to maintain due respect for human life and to refrain from using their medical knowledge contrary to the laws of humanity.
  
  
• Continuing Professional Development:
  The pledge encourages doctors to constantly strive to add to their knowledge and skill, keeping up with the latest advancements in medical science.
  
  
• Professional Relationships:
  Doctors are urged to respect their colleagues as professional brothers and sisters and to maintain positive relationships with them.
  
  
• Non-discrimination:
  The pledge states that considerations of race, religion, nationality, or social standing should not intervene between a doctor's duty and their patient.
  
  
• Solemn Promise:
  The pledge is made solemnly, freely, and upon one's honor, signifying a commitment to uphold the oath throughout their career.

Hear say ,

The root causes are :

a) low pay and long hours ,
b) the 6 to 8 years bond hanging over their heads ( for local mbbs ) ,
c) many junior specialists are marking time to go on to private practice where the big bucks are.
d) low morale , and more ...

 

[shiokalingam]

Professor Joseph Sung
Dean, Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine

I attended the Singapore Medical Council Physician’s Pledge Affirmation Ceremony last Saturday. It was my second time attending and I found it to be a good ceremony. The ceremony started with an opening address by the President of Singapore Medical Council Professor Chee Yam Cheng, followed by a speech from the Second Minister for Health Mr Masagos Zulkifli. The highlight of the ceremony, obviously, was the Physician’s Pledge, sworn by over 200 doctors-to-be.

I solemnly pledge to:
dedicate my life to the service of humanity;
give due respect and gratitude to my teachers;
practise my profession with conscience and dignity;
make the health of my patient my first consideration;
respect the secrets which are confided in me;
uphold the honour and noble traditions of the medical profession;
respect my colleagues as my professional brothers and sisters;
not allow the consideration of race, religion, nationality or social standing
to intervene between my duty and my patient;
maintain due respect for human life;
use my medical knowledge in accordance with the laws of humanity;
comply with the provisions of the Ethical Code;
and constantly strive to add to my knowledge and skill.
I make these promises solemnly, freely and upon my honour.


​

If you read the pledge carefully, you will see a few words pops up frequently.

Respect: The word “Respect” comes up four times in the oath. You vow to respect your teacher, your colleagues (as your brothers and sisters) and respect your patients (and their secrets) and most importantly maintain respect for human life. Doctors often feel that we, in our white coat and stethoscope hanging around our neck, should be the one being respected by patients, family, nurses and, basically everyone. I have seen young doctors raising their voice to elderly patients and/or their family for they could not explain well their health situation or follow the prescription that was given. I have seen “heroes” coming out from the operating theatre, cath lab, or endoscopy suite as if they have the hands of God and wisdom from Heaven. In the pledge, we are reminded that healthcare is a service, a humble job. We are entrusted with the life-and-death of our patients; we are told their secrets and their inner thoughts. We should be humble because we know so very little about the miracles of life and there are still so much that we do not know. “There is a universal respect and even admiration for those who are humble and simple by nature, and who have absolute confidence in all human beings irrespective of their social status,” says Nelson Mandela.

Humanity: Human and humanity appear three times in the oath to remind us that human life is above everything when we perform our duty, irrespective of race, religion, nationality and social standing. When I was a house officer working in the custodial ward of an orthopaedic department, I had to attend to the wounds of gangsters after their fight. Looking at the tattoos on their body and tobacco staining their fingers, I felt disgusted but I could not let my “moral judgement” override my responsibility. A surgeon working in a battlefield has to treat all injuries and save the lives of their wounded enemies as if they are their own comrades. I found this quote by Hippocrates very poignant: “Wherever the art of Medicine is loved, there is also a love of humanity”. If you do not value humanity, if you can only make decisions through science and experience, and make the cut merely with sharp eyes and skilful hands, you may not be practising medicine that is appreciated by your patients.

Profession: In the dictionary, the word “Profession” describes any type of work that needs special training or a particular skill, often one that is respected because it involves a high level of education. But in the medical profession, it has further implications. In this oath, we are reminded that the medical profession entails conscience and dignity, and it comes with honour and noble traditions. You realise that there are things more important than fame and money. You are to be guided by your conscience and not succumb to selfishness or seek advantage. You will strive to be honest and sincere to your patients, their family and your colleagues. You will remember rule number one: DO NO HARM to anyone, including yourself.

Saying the pledge of 129 words takes no more than two minutes. But to follow every single word of this oath and not infringe upon them will take a lifetime. To the young doctors, remember especially these three words “Profession”, “Respect” and “Humanity”. Internalise them, carry them in your heart. They will make you a good doctor, one with honour and dignity.

 

[porcaputtana]

View attachment 222059​

Hear say ,

The root causes are :

a) low pay and long hours ,
b) the 6 to 8 years bond hanging over their heads ( for local mbbs ) ,
c) many junior specialists are marking time to go on to private practice where the big bucks are.
d) low morale , and more ...

1. Hippocratic oath hasn't been sworn for decades. It is considered irrelevant.

2. Current cohort of residents are severely demoralised after discovering medicine is not as glamorous as they had made it out to be. Once the insane work hours kick in many of them regret entering medicine for the sake of impressing their neighbours and friends. You are right that many of them have already made Plan B and serving the masses at public hospitals isn't it. Private practice as an aesthetician or locus beckons with work life balance and far better renumeration.

3. So therefore they are merely marking time and see no reason to anything more than the bare minimum. With rich parents many of them can buy off the bond and immediately go make money and buy the supercar

Epic policy failure by MOH to open the floodgates and admit snowflakes who have no business in the profession

 

[NanoRay]

I aspire to be a loctor and surgeon like you. Be a good loctor.

Sometimes people sue loctors not for money. But most of the time, yes.

In this case, I think he sue for negligent, and he is already paralysed, so I think he sue for other cause, mostly for justice.
For me, if I sue a loctor, is more for justice than money.
Some loctors doesn't deserve to be a loctor.

People who have reached your maturity do not normally aspire to be somebody, but regret for not being that somebody.

If a doctor spells doctor as loctor, I think I will avoid him at all costs. I have no confidence he will get the spelling of other medical terms right lor.

 

[WangChuk]

View attachment 221986


https://www.tnp.sg/news/nuh-withdra...patient-after-finding-out-he-was-nursing-home

good precedent .... all can now make full use of this and start to try sue NUH and SGH and MOH test if can get big big million compensations for any unhappy happenings .... no consequences if lost .... much better than buy TOTO for striking First Prize since no capital is required ..... huat ah!

 

[NanoRay]

Being a loctor is definitely not easy.
Especially when dealing with pte high ses patients.
A loctor role is seen very differently from other kind of jobs. They are not allowed to commit negligence.
A minister can commit whereas a loctor cannot.
For me, I see it as whether they commit it on purpose or accidental.
I can let go of accidental easily.
Every human do commit mistakes
But the on purpose kind is not acceptable.

I suspect you might have misunderstood the [legal] meaning of negligence. If the doctor was negligent, then he did not do in "on purpose". In other words, negligence and intention are mutually exclusive. As for accident, it's called blameless inadvertence. It's NOT even negligence.

I aspire to be a loctor and surgeon like you. Be a good loctor.

Sometimes people sue loctors not for money. But most of the time, yes.

In this case, I think he sue for negligent, and he is already paralysed, so I think he sue for other cause, mostly for justice.
For me, if I sue a loctor, is more for justice than money.
Some loctors doesn't deserve to be a loctor.

The surgery left him with weakness and partial paralysis, but he did not sue for the surgery nor did he sue the doctor who performed the surgery. He sued NUH for his initial 4 visits to the A&E Department. His claim was that the doctors at the A&E Department failed to diagnose his medical condition and [failed to] refer him to the appropriate specialist for further investigations. Subsequently, It was the doctor at the polyclinic who referred him to the Neurology Department @ NUH and he put the blame squarely on the doctors @A&E Department for the delayed treatment which resulted in his current condition.

 

[CoffeeAhSoh]

Good pointers.

 

[NanoRay]

Good pointers.

It's notoriously difficult to prove medical negligence because if doctors are easily sued for negligence there is a fear that it may lead to "protective medicine."

For @sbfuncle, "[defensive] medicine" generally refers to a situation where a medical professional prioritizes protecting themselves from potential legal liability over the patient's best interests. This can involve performing unnecessary procedures or tests, disclosing excessive information, or delaying treatment to reduce the risk of a lawsuit. Essentially, it's a practice where the doctor's concern for legal repercussions outweighs the patient's well-being.

 

[A Singaporean]

Fucking low ses Sinkie thinks he can make money by suing good hospital.

 

[porcaputtana]

It's notoriously difficult to prove medical negligence because if doctors are easily sued for negligence there is a fear that it may lead to "protective medicine."

For @sbfuncle, "protective medicine" generally refers to a situation where a medical professional prioritizes protecting themselves from potential legal liability over the patient's best interests. This can involve performing unnecessary procedures or tests, disclosing excessive information, or delaying treatment to reduce the risk of a lawsuit. Essentially, it's a practice where the doctor's concern for legal repercussions outweighs the patient's well-being.

The term is defensive medicine not protective medicine. Defensive medicine is the norm now. That's because every patient is a medical expert after googling their symptoms and will not except a missed diagnosis. Plus SMC makes it dead easy for a patient to lodge a complaint against a doctor. Just need to march to MOH and make a statutory declaration and SMC will launch an investigation free of charge. Right or wrong no doctor will want an inquiry from SMC as it takes up an enormous amount of time and resources to defend.

And there is the clever prosecution lawyer who will also read medical textbooks to find flaws in the management and ask why weren't certain investigations done during cross. Hence doctors practicing defensive medicine will order every relevant (not the same as unnecessary) investigations to cover their arses.

The classic example is acute appendicitis. Which doctor these days would perform all the clinical examination steps described in Macleod's, consider 5 differential diagnosis and exclude an acute appendicitis? Much safer to just order a CT scan and shut everyone up.

That's the nature of the beast in modern medicine .

 

[NanoRay]

The term is defensive medicine not protective medicine. Defensive medicine is the norm now. That's because every patient is a medical expert after googling their symptoms and will not except a missed diagnosis. Plus SMC makes it dead easy for a patient to lodge a complaint against a doctor. Just need to march to MOH and make a statutory declaration and SMC will launch an investigation free of charge. Right or wrong no doctor will want an inquiry from SMC as it takes up an enormous amount of time and resources to defend.

Thanks for the correction.

 

[sbfuncle]

I suspect you might have misunderstood the [legal] meaning of negligence. If the doctor was negligent, then he did not do in "on purpose". In other words, negligence and intention are mutually exclusive. As for accident, it's called blameless inadvertence. It's NOT even negligence.


The surgery left him with weakness and partial paralysis, but he did not sue for the surgery nor did he sue the doctor who performed the surgery. He sued NUH for his initial 4 visits to the A&E Department. His claim was that the doctors at the A&E Department failed to diagnose his medical condition and [failed to] refer him to the appropriate specialist for further investigations. Subsequently, It was the doctor at the polyclinic who referred him to the Neurology Department @ NUH and he put the blame squarely on the doctors @A&E Department for the delayed treatment which resulted in his current condition.

A&E loctor doesn't do diagnosis.
They do the basic check and leefer to the appropriate specialist to do further investigations.
Sometimes we doesn't even know who to sue, as the hospital leefer patient here and there.
Probably becos of this, he sue nuh as the main contact point.