Doctors are not gods!
Do not regard doctors as gods, for they are not. They wholeheartedly put forth a genuine effort to help patients recover swiftly, and then they themselves turn to prayer for the same.
People have spent thousands of years exploring the intricacies of the human body, only to conclude that it is complicated, unfathomable, and dauntingly intricate—an elusive entity hidden within the fleshy sac of skin. This complexity has, in turn, kept our knowledge limited and left us in a state of relative ignorance.
The human body’s response to any disease condition or treatment procedure is unpredictable. With 13 organ systems working in concert, there are over 60,000 potential ways things can go wrong. To address various disease conditions, nearly 4,000 medical and surgical procedures, along with 6,000 drugs, have been licensed for use.
Despite sincere efforts and good intentions during the treatment of patients, the outcome may not always align with expectations. There are factors beyond the control of doctors. These unintentional and unfavourable consequences are referred to as complications or adverse events.
In spite of sincere effort with good intentions during the treatment of patients, the result may not always come out as expected. There is something beyond the control of the doctors. These unintentional unfavourable consequences are referred to as complications or adverse events.
Complications can occur to anyone and any time. Doctors exert every effort to prevent complications, but it remains unpredictable. It is like a meteorologist not being able to precisely predict when a hurricane will make landfall. Medicine is as much an art as it is a science. It does not operate like mathematics, where two plus two always equals four.
Easy to blame the hospital
Medical errors, however, are different from complications. These incidents occur due to shortcomings in hospital policies and systems. Factors such as insufficient human resources, extended work hours leading to fatigue, inadequate diagnostic tools, subpar hygiene standards, insufficient equipment and inefficiencies among doctors and nurses, as well as a lack of discipline among staff, are among the primary contributors to treatment errors. Importantly, all of these issues are preventable.
Governing bodies must maintain vigilant oversight and only permit hospitals to operate if they meet the highest criteria for patient safety. Establishing a dedicated quality control department within hospitals would be instrumental in continuously monitoring and ensuring patient safety.
But what about other cases where the patient dies despite the doctors trying their best?
Driving a vehicle after drinking alcohol is illegal. If this person causes an accident under the influence of alcohol it is considered a severe offence. During the accident, if the driver sustains severe injuries, s/he is rushed to the hospital’s emergency room, where doctors, nurses, and paramedical staff work tirelessly to save the person’s life.
In cases where the hospital is unable to save a life, a mob may gather and place blame on the hospital, accusing them of negligence. How can they forget that the person was rushed to the hospital due the his/her negligence? Is drink driving not a crime?
I will give you another example. A baby left unattended on a terrace falls, sustains head injuries and dies during treatment. Who do people blame? Yes, the hospital while no one tells anything to the parents or relatives.
Doctors are not monsters!