Doctors – What is the liability?

by Marvin Shilmer 12 Replies latest jw friends

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  BluesBrother

  It seems to say that J W's (or other special choice patients ) must be treated with kid gloves because of the higher risk they have chosen . I am not sure that I agree with that. NB The rest of us U K NHS contributors have to bear the cost of the settlement. I wonder where the money went?

  I am a little surprised that this declaration, No 3, which still forms part of the "Blood Card" that every dub should carry, does not seem to have any weight.

  "I accept full legal responsibility for this decision and release all those treating me from any liability for any consequences resulting from such exclusionn"

  [ie the exclusion of the blood products from treatment]
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  Marvin Shilmer

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  If you know a patient will not permit a transfusion then you should take that into account in planning care and contingencies. But you should always take as much care as possible to avoid blood loss in all patients.

  rebel8,

  I think everyone agrees refusal of blood transfusion should be taken into consideration for planning, care and contingencies.

  I think everyone agrees care should be taken to avoid blood loss in all patients. But this does not mean no blood loss. It means doctors prioritize according to staffing and patient needs, which includes the needs of all patients and not just one.

  A primary point of contention becomes when and whether medical providers should bear the burden of a complication arising solely from religious preference. Medical providers are not experts in religion in order to deal with it as a medical complication. In particular the religious position of Jehovah’s Witnesses is all over the map in terms of what they will and will not take and, on top of that, the diversity of preferences among what Watchtower permits is daunting.

  In this case the hospital applied a standard of care that, aside from religious preference, would have had a good outcome. The bad outcome arose because of religious preference.

  Marvin Shilmer

  http://marvinshilmer.blogspot.com
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  rebel8

  What dubs further confuse is that they are given alternatives because of their beliefs, which are not usually optimal. For example, they may avoid an invasive procedure when one is called for, avoid using the best method to treat the disease because the side effect may be bleeding, etc. Dubs then apply their innate mental gymnastics to pretend the alternatives are actually better.