Hong Kong surgeon Dr Tung Hiu-ming has been cleared by the Medical Council of any professional misconduct after taking a phone call and discussing buying a new car whilst in the middle of an operation.
Dr Tung took the call as he performed a keyhole colon operation on a taxi driver. The driver, who was conscious at the time and heard the conversation, lodged a complaint after his colon was pierced and he had to undergo further surgery. He recounted at a disciplinary hearing how Dr Tung has discussed a BMW for sale with a caller in a conversation that lasted for several minutes. The original hearing found Dr Tung guilty of serious misconduct (as they bloody well should) and he was banned from promotion and pay rises for five years. The Medical Council findings have now overturned this ruling.
Dr Tung's defence rested on the fact that he had answered his hands-free phone 'accidentally' and that he had immediately told the caller that he was busy and finished the call. The Medical Council dismissed the complainant's case as unreliable because, though conscious, he was nevertheless sedated at the time.
Exactly how do you answer a phone 'accidentally', and why was it not considered relevant that the phone company's records showed the call lasted 15 mins? Yes that's right ... 15 mins! How long does it take to say, "Sorry I'm busy right now inside a man's stomach, I'll have to call you back later"?
Frankly,
It's An Outrage!!
I have been to HK hospitals for the birth of my two sons and there are signs absolutely everywhere asking visitors to switch off mobile phones because they interfere with sensitive medical equipment. Dr Tung presumably knew this, and presumably the operating theatre was full of 'sensitive medical equipment', so why wasn't his phone turned off?
The Medical Council have made an utter mockery of this case, showing their total lack of impartiality, protecting their own against what was disgraceful and unprofessional behaviour by one of their surgeons.
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