Volume-1 Issue-3 September, 2011
Is delegating patient care a breach of trust?
We graduate from Medical colleges as doctors & specialist and soon we are assisted by team of paramedical staff, junior doctors which increases over a period of time. As this process continues, we become privileged members of medical fraternity wherein, even when we are ill or our close ones are unwell, most of the nuisance associated with seeking medical help like that of waiting to meet a doctor, investigation protocol, care at hospital are bypassed or minimized. Hence as doctors we may never see things through patient’s eye and their unmet needs. Since the unmet needs of patient are vast, everything cannot be mentioned here for the sake of brevity.
There is emerging trend of delegating patient care without their knowledge or consent (a part of it or completely), to subordinates / junior doctors & paramedical staff (no matter how competent they are), just because want of time or sophistication. Doesn’t it lead to breach of trust? When actually patient seeks your care!
