What is the Way Out? Train or Imprison Medical Personnel?( Preface )

Abstract

The question above may sound an odd question since the answer is seemingly very obvious. Events in recent days have made most of the medical doctors ask precisely this question.

It all started with an old man who was brought by a Civil Defense ambulance to one of the new MoH hospitals after he was found lying in a street with apparent injuries and possibly impaired level of consciousness. He was assessed by a junior resident in the ER who decided to order some blood tests and a CT scan. The order of blood tests was documented in the file while the CT order was not, but was documented on the order form only. The doctor was very busy and had seen 21 patients prior to seeing that patient on that night.

The following events were clearly a system failure. The patient was somehow sent to the X-ray department apparently without any adequate escort; he ended up in an X-ray room which was supposed to be under maintenance by the company supplying the machine. The room was supposed to be closed but unfortunately it was somehow opened. After he entered the room, it, for unknown reason, was closed and possibly locked. The patient never reported to the ER again. The family was contacted in the same night and when they asked about the patient, the answer was that he did not come back, and was assumed to have left to "avoid" being charged, a practice apparently commonly seen in some MoH hospitals.