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GROUP #2 (CASES ON DISCLOSURE)
Copyright 2011 by Professor Omar Hasan Kasule Sr
Case #4: Midwives refused to inform a mother and hid a congenitally malformed baby from her for a week. They gave the mothers various excuses for not showing her the baby. When the mother became very angry the pediatrician came to talk to her and told her that she had an abnormal baby. He said ‘in my experience children with this type of abnormality do not survive longer than a month’. When the patient asked for the cause of the abnormality the pediatrician replied ‘It is all your fault, you should not have become pregnant above the age of 40’. The mother broke down and cried. She left the hospital 2 hours later without being formally discharged.
Case #5: The manager of a national airline was worried about the erratic behavior and mistakes of one of the senior pilots. He asked around and found out the name and address of the pilot’s family doctor who was in private practice. He wrote to the private practitioner to provide records about treatment of the pilot for vision and psychological problems. He asked specifically for information on drug abuse. The private practitioner called and gave the information but told the manager that he could not put it down in writing since he had not discussed the matter with the patient. Two weeks later the private practitioner received an offer of a free ticket for himself and his wife to a holiday resort. The letter from the airline public relations office said that the airline was carrying out a promotion and that names of beneficiaries had been selected at random from the telephone directory. The doctor subsequently went on the trip with his wife.
Case #6: A medical researcher stationed at the hospital used to take an aliquot from every blood specimen to test for HBV. The hospital authorities knew what he was doing but the patients were not informed because he did not record names of patients. One day out of curiosity he tested a specimen for HIV and found it positive. He was confused what to do regarding disclosure. He called a meeting of the senior staff in the hospital to discuss the matter. He also included a respected lawyer from the town to provide a non-medical perspective.
Case #7: A community pediatrician had reported abuse of a couple’s first child to the authorities. The authorities called in the parents to discuss the matter. The abusing father was so angry that he divorced his wife for giving information to the pediatrician. He later took the wife back under the rujuk provisions of the Law. At the next visit the pediatrician noted signs of child abuse and asked the mother. The mother confirmed the abuse but asked the pediatrician not to follow up the matter for the sake of her marriage and family. The pediatrician this time did not report to the authorities.
Case #8: A midwife who had contracted HIV due to transfusion hid her status for 5 years. She was very meticulous during deliveries observing all precautions and during that time no patient was reported to have been infected. After a family quarrel her husband revealed her status to the newspaper. The editor failed to interview her before publication of the report. The midwife refused a request by the head of obstetrics to have an HIV test. The hospital suspended her and charged her for criminal negligence in the high court.