Noor Azlin Abdul Rahman is a cancer patient. Her lung cancer is at Stage IV. Unfortunately, the cancer has spread to her brain.
She sued Changi General Hospital (CGH) for negligence but her claims were thrown out by the court.
She went to the Court of Appeal, which has now ruled in her favour. Noor Azlin is finally vindicated.
This patient had gone to CGH on a few occasions over a few years since 2007 but her lung cancer was not detected or diagnosed earlier.
The attending respiratory specialist, Imran Mohamed Noor, had discharged her without scheduling a follow-up consultation. Recommendations by radiologist to follow-up with Noor Azlin also went unheeded. Even worse, there were no records of the doctors who made the decisions to not follow the recommendations from the radiologist.
CGH already has a problem with its reputation. Patients would rather travel further to SGH then be treated at CGH, for fear of the repercussions.
Where is the accountability?
How can a doctor make a decision that may affect someone's life, without needing to sign off on that decision? This is a serious systemic lapse that CGH needs to address.
The MOH should also play a more proactive role to ensure that such systemic lapses are not allowed to happen. Inspectors must be on the ground periodically to understand the processes more intimately.
There cannot be a repeat of poor Noor Azlin's case.
