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Friday, 6 November 2009
University hospital death ‘not only one’
The controversial death of a Beijing professor who was allegedly treated by unlicensed medical postgraduates at prestigious Peking University First Hospital is not an isolated case, according to lawyers and relatives of victims.
The controversial death of a Beijing professor who was allegedly treated by unlicensed medical postgraduates at prestigious Peking University First Hospital is not an isolated case, according to lawyers and relatives of victims.
Previous court rulings showed that there were at least two other cases in which patients have died after being treated by unlicensed medical students and nursing students without supervision, they said.
Beijing-based lawyer Sun Wanjun said he had handled three such cases and courts had ruled in favour of two of them. The third case was still being heard.
“I have handled three cases of illegal medical practices by unlicensed medical students,” Sun said in a telephone interview yesterday. “And the three cases took place at the same hospital.”
A report by CCTV on Wednesday about the death of a Peking University professor Xiong Zhuowei provoked a nationwide outcry. The hospital insisted that accusations of unlicensed doctors practising without supervision were unfounded. CCTV stood by its report.
A Beijing court yesterday heard an appeal by Xiong’s husband, Wang Jianguo, also a Peking University professor, for more compensation for her death. A verdict is pending.
Wang yesterday said his wife’s case was not unique. He had met relatives of other victims treated by unlicensed interns before their deaths at Peking University First Hospital.
“The problem of unlicensed medical practice is even more blatant in the other cases,” he said.
Wang said he would donate any money gained from the lawsuit to build a school, because he was seeking justice rather than cash.
Xiong, a scientist who won two prestigious research grants and was an Australian passport holder, died in 2006 after surgery for minor back pain. The surgery was performed by a licensed doctor. But unlicensed doctors were involved in the post-operative treatment, prescriptions and emergency rescue efforts without supervision, according to Xiong’s litigation representative, Zhuo Xiaoqin.
Zhuo said an investigation of the hospital by Beijing’s Health Supervision Bureau last year had concluded that unlicensed medical interns had treated patients without supervision. He said so far he had not heard of similar cases in other hospitals, and that the problem was “quite outstanding” at Peking University First Hospital.
In one of the cases handled by Sun, a patient who sought treatment for a minor flu ailment died 50 hours after he was admitted to hospital. He was repeatedly given the same antibiotics even after showing serious allergic symptoms to an initial dose of them. He was given an enormous amount of strong tranquillisers, and a doctor treating him when he was in critical condition was a medical student who was three years away from graduating, according to a lawyer and a relative of the victim.
In July last year, the court ruled that the hospital was responsible for allowing unlicensed medical students to treat patients independently and forging medical records. The hospital appealed against the verdict but a ruling in January upheld the original judgment.
1 comment:
University hospital death ‘not only one’
Lawyers, relatives say others have died
Josephine Ma
06 November 2009
The controversial death of a Beijing professor who was allegedly treated by unlicensed medical postgraduates at prestigious Peking University First Hospital is not an isolated case, according to lawyers and relatives of victims.
Previous court rulings showed that there were at least two other cases in which patients have died after being treated by unlicensed medical students and nursing students without supervision, they said.
Beijing-based lawyer Sun Wanjun said he had handled three such cases and courts had ruled in favour of two of them. The third case was still being heard.
“I have handled three cases of illegal medical practices by unlicensed medical students,” Sun said in a telephone interview yesterday. “And the three cases took place at the same hospital.”
A report by CCTV on Wednesday about the death of a Peking University professor Xiong Zhuowei provoked a nationwide outcry. The hospital insisted that accusations of unlicensed doctors practising without supervision were unfounded. CCTV stood by its report.
A Beijing court yesterday heard an appeal by Xiong’s husband, Wang Jianguo, also a Peking University professor, for more compensation for her death. A verdict is pending.
Wang yesterday said his wife’s case was not unique. He had met relatives of other victims treated by unlicensed interns before their deaths at Peking University First Hospital.
“The problem of unlicensed medical practice is even more blatant in the other cases,” he said.
Wang said he would donate any money gained from the lawsuit to build a school, because he was seeking justice rather than cash.
Xiong, a scientist who won two prestigious research grants and was an Australian passport holder, died in 2006 after surgery for minor back pain. The surgery was performed by a licensed doctor. But unlicensed doctors were involved in the post-operative treatment, prescriptions and emergency rescue efforts without supervision, according to Xiong’s litigation representative, Zhuo Xiaoqin.
Zhuo said an investigation of the hospital by Beijing’s Health Supervision Bureau last year had concluded that unlicensed medical interns had treated patients without supervision. He said so far he had not heard of similar cases in other hospitals, and that the problem was “quite outstanding” at Peking University First Hospital.
In one of the cases handled by Sun, a patient who sought treatment for a minor flu ailment died 50 hours after he was admitted to hospital. He was repeatedly given the same antibiotics even after showing serious allergic symptoms to an initial dose of them. He was given an enormous amount of strong tranquillisers, and a doctor treating him when he was in critical condition was a medical student who was three years away from graduating, according to a lawyer and a relative of the victim.
In July last year, the court ruled that the hospital was responsible for allowing unlicensed medical students to treat patients independently and forging medical records. The hospital appealed against the verdict but a ruling in January upheld the original judgment.
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