Complaints against doctors in S'pore surge 58%
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Complaints against doctors in S'pore surge 58 per cent
By Ewen Boey | Yahoo! Newsroom – 1 hour 52 minutes ago-
Complaints against doctors here rose 58 per cent last year, compared to the previous year. (AFP file photo)
The number of complaints against doctors increased 58 per cent last year from that of the year before, said the Singapore Medical Council (SMC).
The council will review its Ethical Code and Guidelines, which is expected to be finalised in the first quarter of next year, to see how it can address the problem.
This information was revealed by the SMC on Saturday at the Second Physician's Pledge Affirmation Ceremony attended by 380 doctors at the National University of Singapore, wrote The Straits Times.
Last year, 152 complaints against doctors were filed compared to 96 such cases the year before. The most common complaints were professional negligence, incompetence and communication issues.
14 cases were referred for disciplinary inquiries, while 11 cases were issued letters of warning and 51 were issued with letters of advice.
The SMC believes that the review of the ethical code and guidelines is timely, as the role of doctors become more complex and patients hold higher expectations.
The code represents the fundamental rules of conduct and behavior expected of doctors practicing in Singapore. It also acts as a guide to the minimum standards required of them by SMC when carrying out their work.
Professor Tan Ser Kiat, president of SMC, said, "There are many reasons -- one is of course advancing technological demands and he must be more knowledgeable. Second and an equally important factor is the increasing demands and expectations of the public."
"From my experience, some of these demands and expectations are unrealistic and therefore we have to try to resolve that. We all know that medicine is unlike nuclear physics where one plus one is always equal to two.
"The practice of medicine is based on experience and outcomes, and no two patients are identical. So the doctor may do his best, but the outcome may not necessarily be what the patient is looking for."
Another problem highlighted by the council is the surge in the number of advertisements for lifestyle-related medical services.
Last year saw 155 cases investigated for contravening the Private Hospitals and Medical Clinics (Publicity) Regulations, a 41 per cent increase compared to the year before.
The Ministry of Health said that a lot of the complaints involved customers being influenced by advertisements to undergo unnecessary medical procedures, mostly aesthetic treatments.
The ministry added that 124 licensees have been disciplined this year alone for making misleading statements, which include claims like "best medical are available" or branding themselves as "Singapore's No. 1 clinic".
Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said, "Although there is now easier access to medical information, the information needs to be contextualised and individualised. Information needs to be translated by a doctor into the right treatment for the right patient.
"Patients remain vulnerable and still need a doctor whom they can trust to help them make sense of all the information they receive."
The ministry also admitted that the increasing number of complaints could be due to the presence of a larger pool of doctors here.
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I have more trust in the older generation of doctors.
