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Morning Health Talk :
- Dr Bawa Garba wins appeal over decision to strike her name off the register
New Delhi, August 15, 2018 :
UK: Dr Bawa Garba convicted of gross negligence manslaughter after death of boy, six, wins appeal over decision to strike her off.
A doctor who was convicted of gross negligence manslaughter after the death of six-year-old Jack Adcock has won her Court of Appeal challenge over the decision to strike her off. Three senior judges quashed the High Court’s decision against Dr Hadiza Bawa-Garba and restored the lesser sanction of a one-year suspension.
Announcing the ruling, Master of the Rolls Sir Terence Etherton said: “The members of the Court express their deep sympathy with Jack’s parents, who attended the hearing in person, as well as respect for the dignified and resolute way in which they have coped with a terrible loss in traumatic circumstances.”
Dr Bawa-Garba went to the Court of Appeal fighting a decision made in January by two High Court judges to substitute erasure for the lesser sanction of a year’s suspension imposed by the Medical Practitioners Tribunal (MPT) in June last year.
Their ruling followed a successful appeal by the General Medical Council (GMC), which argued that suspension was “not sufficient” to protect the public or maintain public confidence in the medical profession.
The tribunal was satisfied that her deficient actions in relation to Jack were neither deliberate nor reckless, that she had remedied the deficiencies in her clinical skills and did not present a continuing risk to patients, and that the risk of her clinical practice suddenly and without explanation falling below the standards expected on any given day was no higher than for any other reasonably competent doctor.
LSCS Update
Obstetricians as final decision-makers for CS are vital determinants of the overall rate of CS in any country. However, many times the factors that influence their decision to perform a CS are multifactorial and complex. This systematic review and metasynthesis identified the range of factors that influence clinicians’ decisions to perform a CS, which include personal, cultural, institutional, legal and financial factors.
One of the main key factors that influenced decision-making for CS was ‘clinicians’ beliefs’. This was mostly related to clinicians’ personal preferences, perception of the degree of risk associated with vaginal birth or VBAC (vaginal birth after CS), and CS as being a safe and convenient option.
Decision-making was influenced further by professional agreements and disagreements among obstetricians and midwives, and obstetricians with different level of experience, clinicians’ fear of litigation, lack of access to manpower and physical resources.
Lack of unified guidelines, financial benefits to the hospital, and private versus public health care facilities were all influencing factors, ultimately contributing to the rise in rate of CS.
The rising rate of CS worldwide, particularly for first-time mothers, is a growing concern with lack of evidence related to the factors that influence decision-making. It has offered insight into the ‘why’ behind the factors influencing rising rate of CS, despite the considerable evidence that vaginal birth is safer and associated with fewer complications compared to birth by CS (Sunita Panda et al, PLoS One, http://journals.plos.org/
Men with IFG and IGT have more problems with sexual function
Men with impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) have more problems with sexual function and are more depressed than men in the general population.
Men with isolated IFG or IGT had less severe impairment in sexual function and did not have elevated depressive symptoms.
These findings indicate that in individuals in whom IFG coexists with IGT the risk of sexual dysfunction is particularly high and beyond diabetes, this condition should be taken into consideration in the differential diagnosis of men with apparently idiopathic sexual insufficiency (International Journal of Impotence Research, July 26).
Omega-3 fatty acids reduce depression
Omega-3 fatty acids are found primarily in fish oil and certain marine algae. Because depression appears less common in nations where people eat large amounts of fish, scientists have investigated whether fish oils may prevent and/or treat depression and other mood disorders. Two omega-3 fatty acids, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are thought to have the most potential to benefit people with mood disorders.
Video to watch: What is endothelial dysfunction? https://www.
Dr KK Aggarwal
Padma Shri Awardee
Vice President CMAAO
President HCFI
HealthySoch
