1058. Medical negligence - failure to examine the baby's eyes

Sunday Jul 1, 2012

Blue skies, white clouds. I came to the Surgery at 8am and took some pictures of the yellow flowers and lime against the bright morning sun. My air-conditioning lady neighbour had planted them on the flower lots separating the car parking lots and cared for them well. I managed to take a picture of a butterfly and a solitary busy bee. There was a small bird with a yellow neck seen for a short while. Taking flower images with a working Sunday bee in bright morning sun make them look better.
MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE - FAILURE TO EXAMINE THE BABY'S EYES

Earlier, I read a Straits Time report about a 52-year-old paedectrician having to settle with a parent whose 12-year-old child's eyes (one blind and one in poor visual health) were not examined by him 12 years ago.

I always emphasized to Drs Vanessa and Daniel that certain procedures must be done and recorded. If the pet owner does not want the procedures, this must be written on the case file. Failing to perform certain procedures will lead to "medical negligence" litigation. They are to write "AMA" - procedures informed but not wanted to be done.

As each vet or doctor has his or her own sensibility and responsibility, it is up to the licensee to ensure that best practices are followed. For example, in a haematuria case, urine analysis is mandatory. No excuses. If the dog dies subsequently, a failure to get the urine analysed opens the vet to medical negligence litigation. As simple as that. It takes a lot of patience to ensure that the clinic is well managed so as to minimise litigation.