Lawfully yours: By Retired Justice K Chandru | Docs awaiting consent in emergencies are acting against the Hippocratic Oath

Docs awaiting consent in emergencies are acting against the Hippocratic Oath

Recently, when I was at a clinic for a checkup, an elderly woman reached there complaining of dizziness and asking for help. As she was waiting, she started throwing up and almost swooned before regaining herself. When I alerted the doctor, he said they were waiting for the woman’s relatives living nearby to come in another 15-20 minutes and only then they could start the treatment. Later, when I questioned the delay in attending to the old woman, the doctor said he had to get the consent of the patient’s relatives to extend the treatment. “If any tragedy befalls the patient, I would be held responsible. So I can do it only with the consent of someone responsible,” he said. Do you think such a delay, which could even turn out to be fatal, is legally and ethically correct?

-- S Venkat Maran, Chetpet, Chennai

That doctor seems to think his protection is more important than taking care of the patient in the crisis moment. In that process, he even tends to forget the Hippocratic Oath taken by him. No doubt, attending to patients with consent from them or their near relatives may protect you from action. Ultimately it is a risk. Courts have amply protected the professional interests of doctors. However, like in the West, if doctors take malpractice insurance then it will safeguard against claims by patients.

What ultimately will protect women is gender equality imbibed in menfolk.

Do you think more stringent laws would be a deterrence to recurring incidents of rape? There has been a long debate on the issue of awarding the death penalty for rape convicts, with some arguing against it. Can fear of death reduce incidents of sexual violence happening in the country? With more and more women taking up challenging jobs, even working at odd hours, will such a law help women get a sense of freedom?

-- R Rajasekar, Mandaveli, Chennai

The severity of the punishments hardly acts as a deterrent. Changes in law brought about after the dastardly Nirbhaya gang rape case in the capital Delhi did not stop rapes in this country. Now we have the West Bengal incident, after which the State government has brought in an amendment to the rape laws there, called the Aparajita Bill. What ultimately will protect women is the gender equality imbibed in our menfolk. We must be sensitive to our societal norms.