Most dangerous species after PDRM are Malaysian Doctors

Doctors sit up, your medical blunders have ruined lives 

Johanna Pang stepped into the Tawau General Hospital after discovering blood on the tissue following an extended bout of hacking and coughing. The doctors examined her and told her that she had Tuberculosis (TB), gave her medication for TB and sent her home.

Over the next several months, however, Pang's health become worse. Still believing what the doctor had told her, Pang went back to consult him again and was treated for TB, yet again.

A year later, Pang’s health deteriorated even further. Desperate to regain her health, and at the advice of family and friends, she consulted a specialist who delivered the bad news.

It seemed that Pang never had TB but had been suffering from lung cancer all along. Even more bad news, the cancer had spread to her other organs and now Pang’s chances for survival was slim.

Devastated, Pang flew to Kuala Lumpur and was admitted and treated at Hospital Universiti in Petaling Jaya. After several months of treatment, including chemotherapy, Pang was given the dreaded news. Doctors informed Pang that her cancer had spread too far and that there was no hope for survival. Pang was sent home to die. She passed away several months later.

Pang's story is one of those horrifying and hard to believe but hardly an isolated case. Unbelievable as it may seem, patients across the country are seriously injured by failure to correctly diagnose cancer, birth trauma as well as birth injuries. Then, we have heard of cases of operating on the wrong patients, amputating the wrong limbs, organs removed from the wrong side of the body, neglecting to keep tabs on life-threatening conditions, misdiagnose and administering the wrong medication. Medical blunders have ruined lives and in some cases, can be fatal.

Fahida Wahid, who was rushed to Selayang Hospital due to severe stomach pain, was diagnosed with a ruptured appendicitis. However, after the surgeons had removed her appendix, they told her husband that they had made a blunder and that her appendix was fine, but it was her gallbladder that had burst and that they needed to cut her open again which they did.

“I was at a loss and told them that I was going to sue them, Fahida’s husband, Harris Md Daud, told theantdaily.

“It just didn't make sense to me. How can one mistake an appendix for a gallbladder?,” he asked.

Harris had wanted to move his wife to another hospital but surgeons told him that her condition was too delicate and that to move her would be detrimental.

His wife was admitted into the ICU for recovery. However, she passed away a week later because her ruptured gallbladder had leaked into her system triggering an infection.

“She died of an infection. Can you believe that? I don’t trust the physician here anymore. Every time someone from my family gets sick, I advise them to go to Singapore for treatment or second opinion,” he said.

Misdiagnosis by physicians is a severe and frequent occurrence in the health sector. The consequences of a misdiagnosis can harm a patient's health and cost money, and in some cases even death.

When a medical practitioner has yours or a loved one’s life in his or her hands, it is of paramount importance for them to work at the optimum level of competency.

Thousands of Malaysian walk into the forbidding and unfamiliar world of a hospital and put their lives in the hands of doctors, nurses, technicians and administrators on a daily basis.

Yet, these medical professionals are sentencing these patients to their death due to slipups and negligence, most of which are undoubtedly preventable like Pang’s and Fahida’s cases.

For that reason, it is always advisable to get a second or a third opinion before you make a rash decision involving your life or that of a loved one.

Ace Emerson