An anaesthetist in Singapore, Dr Islam Md Towfique, was suspended for 2.5 years after repeatedly walking out of a surgery to answer his phone.
The patient on the operating table ended up suffering a blood clot complication, which Dr Islam didn’t respond to in time because of his repeated absences.
The patient was revived by the doctors but ultimately passed away the following day, and it was concluded that the patient’s chances of surviving the blood clot were lowered by Dr Islam’s negligence.
The Singapore Medical Council said on Tuesday (10 January) that the surgery took place in September 2016, and the deceased was put under anaesthesia for bone surgery, but he then suffered a blood clot that blocked oxygen from his lungs.
Dr Islam failed to respond adequately to supply more oxygen to the patient’s blood and his SpO2 (the % of oxygen inside his blood) fell into the 70s and 80s region, whereas a healthy blood oxygen level is between 96% to 99%.
The disciplinary tribunal was in agreement that although the patient’s chances of surviving the blood clot were low, Dr Islam worsened them with his negligence.
Dr Islam said in his defence that walking out during an operation is common practice and argued that it ought to be viewed as less blameworthy.
But he was the only attending anaesthetist for the surgery and only had a nurse from the anaesthetic unit to help him, and it was mandatory for him to be constantly present while the patient was sedated.
Investigations also revealed that he had been gone and left the patient unattended for as long as 9 minutes.
He asked to reduce his suspension to 12 months, but got his sentence reduced to 2.5 years instead, on the ground that he is still walking out of operations for phone calls “till this day”.
The hospital that Dr Islam was based at, Gleneagles Hospital, had also suspended him for 6 months back in 2017, and he will also be responsible for the bills of the proceedings, the lawyer fees for the SMC and not walk out of surgeries again.