There is an old Chinese proverb which goes as follows, ‘‘The superior doctor prevents sickness; The mediocre doctor attends to impending sickness. The inferior doctor treats actual sickness.’’
This saying reminds us that doctors have a duty to exercise proper professional skill and judgment.
As a medical litigation lawyer who holds doctors in high esteem, it is often a difficult balancing act for me when I weigh up a doctor’s willingness to help the most vulnerable in our society with a failure to act reasonably in a particular circumstance.
We must never forget that despite a doctor’s valued position, in the same way that other professionals are scrutinised, doctors may be held accountable when the otherwise avoidable occurs.
As a patient you have the right to make your own decisions regarding your medical care.
Your rights can only be exercised if you are fully informed about that care and treatment. In order to be fully informed, you need all the information from your treating doctor.
The information provided by your doctor must be presented to you in a language that you understand and should include information such as a full description of the treatment proposed, its risks and benefits, a description of alternate treatments, the probable results if no treatment is undertaken, the probability of success and the definition of what that success means.
You should never be afraid of asking such questions in order to satisfy yourself that the proposed treatment is one that you wish to undergo. I recall as a young lawyer being shocked when I asked one of my clients why she proceeded with treatment that ultimately paralysed her in circumstances where other options were in fact available.
She advised me that she had no idea that other options existed and that her discussion with her doctor spanned less than two minutes.
Her response to me was, ‘‘But he is a doctor?’’
That type of thinking should never be adopted by a patient.
As a patient, you need to make an informed decision and when armed with the proper knowledge, you can; always remember, if in doubt, please speak out.
- Sally Gleeson (pictured), Medical Negligence specialist and Partner at Turner Freeman Lawyers
