Mrs. W, a 25-year-old secretary, was referred by her GP to a local general surgeon, Mr. D, with troublesome warts on the middle finger of her dominant hand. Mr. D then referred Mrs. W to Mr. Q for surgery. Following the surgery, the patient suffered various complications, so she filed a medical negligence case. On the day of the consultation with Mr. D, the consultant’s outpatient clinic was overcrowded, as one of his juniors unexpectedly got sick.
In this event, Mr. D did not record the consultation but completed a booking form for Mrs. W to have “diathermy of warts” on the minor surgery list . He then assigned the case to his junior doctor Dr. Q. On the day of the procedure, Dr. Q was unsupervised for the minor surgery for which he was appointed . In a state of despair, Dr. Q relentlessly searched his notes for advice or indications required for the surgery. Being relatively…
