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Malpractice
Kaieteur News – The Guyana Medical Council (GMC) has acted with authority. One medical doctor is gone for good, another suspended from practising for four months. Other than the broad banner of “malpractice” little else was shared by the GMC. Nonetheless, it is a start to weed out unprofessional, acceptable practices in the field. The action of the GMC should send a strong message to other doctors that they are being scrutinised, malpractice will be taken seriously, and those found lacking will be dealt with, pursuant to the provisions in the Laws of Guyana and the Medical Practitioners’ Act. We hope that this marks the beginning of a new phase demanding serious, consistent compliance, with adherence to medical codes and ethics by all local practitioners of medicine, no exceptions.
Many reports have circulated from those victimised by malpractice at the hands of one doctor or another in some way. We have heard them, and there is certainty that other Guyanese have their own experiences. They may have been privy to their colleagues’ experiences, and those of family members and neighbours. Yet, rare is the occasion when disciplinary action has resulted from what sounds like and looks like medical malpractice. When ordinary citizens refrain from escalating matters, suffer in silence, this happens. In this instance, the unusual has happened, and the GMC is commended. It would have been helpful if the details leading to the suspension of one doctor, and the full banishment of another, were placed in the public domain. At least some of those details, if only to alert the public about what falls within the boundaries of medical malpractice, and what their options are if they are on the receiving end of costly wrongdoing by a licensed medical practitioner. If there is one thing on which fault can be found in the GMC’s action in the matter of these two doctors, it is that Guyanese should know more about what led to the malpractice conclusions.
Simply speaking, medical malpractice could be defined as what has to do with misdiagnosis, mistreatment, and the mistakes from both that caused severe repercussions to the patient. This includes injury, pain, economic loss, on an ongoing basis, and eventually death. Was the standard of medical care administered by the practitioner in keeping with that laid down by medical boards, the profession, in general? Money and fleecing of patients are a common complaint by those with serious medical conditions (or those made out to be so by doctors), who lack knowledge of how to access redress for their situation. Too often, care that is not needed, procedures not followed, and the closing of ranks in the profession have all contributed to what is believed to be an unsatisfactory state of care in Guyana. There is no question that there are many competent and ethical doctors locally. But it can also be said that there is the firm perception that there are too many who twist patients around their fingers, through diagnosing fear-inducing conditions, and thus setting them up for the rip-off that follows. Maternal deaths have eased up in recent times, but they were too frequent for comfort, with an official wall put up in the aftermath.
The difference now is that the GMC acted decisively, which prompts the conclusion that the two doctors were into some serious stuff. The question is whether these two locally practising doctors are the exception, or if they represent the proverbial tip of a bigger situation still shrouded in secrecy or coverup. It is heartening that the GMC acted with determination and finality, which has not always been the case. Guyanese should take note of the two decisions and take hope. They have a place to escalate matters should something go terribly wrong from improper or unnecessary treatment. Citizens must know their rights, and they must be prepared to make the best use of them. Doctors are not gods, and they should be held as professionals, and nothing more. The good ones should be recognized and saluted. On the other hand, the incompetent and unethical ones should be exposed and disciplined, as the circumstances may demand. The GMC has opened that door, and Guyanese patients and their families should take note.
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