Monday, September 12, 2005

Should I trust my foreign trained hospital doctor?

More bad news from the revived health inquiry in Brisbane:

"PATIENTS at Hervey Bay Hospital were in "very unsafe hands" because of three overseas-trained orthopaedic surgeons, Queensland's medical malpractice inquiry has been told....

Dr North said in a submission that conditions at the hospital orthopaedic unit were third world.

Dr North said there were shortcomings in the trio's clinical assessment, basic communications with staff and patients and surgical skills.

"A summary of the cases noted confirm the investigators knew that the people of the Fraser Coast are in very unsafe hands from the point of view of doctors Naidoo, Sharma and Krishna," Dr North said in his report.

"It appears that there is a third world culture with respect to patient care at Hervey Bay Hospital simply as a consequence of the training of those employed there.

"Under the circumstances prevailing at this hospital patient's safety is at severe risk."


I am pretty sure it was Currency Lad in a comment on on his site (although I cannot find it now) who had a bit of a go at Queensland public hospital patients for being apparently racist by continually asking for second opinions when they have foreign looking hospital doctors. But, in light of evidence like this, can you really blame them?

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