THE Singapore Medical Council (SMC) agrees that a doctor's first
and overriding responsibility is to patients ('Injured workers get
little time to recuperate' by Mr Tan Thian Huat, Feb 14; and
'Ensure rest for injured workers' by the Humanitarian Organisation
for Migration Economics and Transient Workers Count Too, Forum
Online, Feb 22).
Doctors must treat patients appropriately and do everything
necessary to ensure that patients have the best chance of good
recovery from their illnesses or injuries.
Doctors must ensure that patients do not come to harm from
inadequate treatment. This includes providing appropriate and
sufficient medical leave or certification of limitation of duties
as medically necessary.
The SMC would like to remind all doctors that their
responsibility to their patients is not modified, and must not be
compromised, by who they themselves are employed or contracted by,
or by who happens to be the payer of the medical services they
provide.
Their primary responsibility is always to patients.
The obligations of doctors towards their patients are spelt out
in the SMC's Ethical Code and Ethical Guidelines.
The SMC expects all registered medical practitioners to adhere
to these ethical standards and wishes to remind doctors that
serious disregard of or persistent failure to meet these standards
can potentially lead to harm to patients or bring disrepute to the
profession, and consequently, may lead to disciplinary proceedings
when such breaches come to SMC's attention.
Ms Tan Fay-Ann
Assistant Manager,
Corporate Communications
Singapore Medical Council