Can Doctors Be Trusted?

Disturbing signs of consumer distruct of hospitals, doctors and modern medical care are becoming obvious with the growing numbers of medical negligence cases and lawsuit reported lately.
These are some of the cases highlighted in the press in Malaysia alone for example:

• A 47 year old women filed a RM100 million suit against the Government, the Health Ministry and the Jitra Hospital after she was given HIV-contaminated blood during a blood transfusion. we also heard similar cases in other countries as well
• A locum doctor employed at Klinik Wanita-Wanita (Womens Clinic) which held a hospital licence, performed a dilation and curettage ('D&C") procedure on a women. It resulted in a perforation of the uterus and severe injuries to her rectum and small intestines. The court awarded her over RM40,000 for damages.
• A 41 year old womwn became a quadriplegic after an operation in the Assunta Hospital in Kuala Lumpur, which damaged her spinal cord. The victim, who is now confined to a wheelchair, said she became paralysed within about 24 hours after the operation following s road accident. In April 1999, the Kuala Lumpur High Court awarded her more than RM500,000 in damages.
• In 1988, a schoolteacher nearly died from an allergic reaction to the drugs prescribed by a clinic in Seberang Jaya, Seberang Perai, Penang
• In 1986, CAP (Consumer Association of Penang) highlighted the case of a women who suffered a mental breakdown after delivery in a private hospital. Two of her babies died. She was not warned she was expecting triplets by the gynaecologist.
• A women was recently reported to have a surgical needle embedded in her vagina after an operation during childbirth in 1995.
• In 1994, 2 women complained that sanitary pad were left inside their vagina after delivery.

The above cases are just the tip of the iceberg. According to CAP's estimates, medical errors could be the second top killer in the country. This raises the inevitable question: Can the Doctor be trusted?