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PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS & ACADEMIC DISTINCTIONS
•FRCS Edinburgh 1977 •FRCS Ireland for services to victims of trauma and developing the ATLS System in the Irish Republic 1993 •FRCS England (by election) for services to Surgical Education in the UK 1995 •FRCP London for services to Medical Education (in Northern Ireland region) 1997 •PGDL, College of Law, London, 1999 •Appointed Miller Professor of Surgery, University of Johannesburg 2001 •Werner Korte Gold Medal for services to German Surgical Education 2002 •International Development Advisor, Royal College of Surgeons, England (Tutor since 1994, Principal Tutor for Faculty Development 2003-2008) •Medal of the Swedish Surgical Society for services to medical education 2005 •FRCS Glasgow for international services to medicine 2008 •Rudolf Pichlmayr Medaille of the German Surgical Society
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Alternative Medical Treatments
Many lay people purport to have the ‘gift of healing’ and often appeal to a gullible population who are looking for a ‘quick fix’. At the end of the day, some of these therapies work – in which case they are medicinal, or they do not, and sometimes cause considerable harm.
What happens when a patient is harmed by such therapy?
The case involves a ‘cryotherapist’ who, as a treatment for chronic foot pain, utilised liquid nitrogen mist.
After the third such therapy to a foot, spread out over several weeks, the foot became itchy, tender and a punctate rash appeared. The rash started to peel, and the patient was unable to wear any shoes because she could not stand pressure in the area. It took three months for the skin to settle down and the patient was left with some permanent discolouration of the skin in the area which had been subjected to the treatment.
The patient had signed a form indicating her own past medical history but was never given any information about the treatment itself, apart from being told it was an excellent method of managing chronic pain.
When such a patient has been treated by a member of a professional body and difficulties occur, there is redress. For instance, in a case where a patient was burned during a course of heat treatment administrated by a physiotherapist, even though this was carried out in a manner approved by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapists, the court found that warnings alone were an inadequate safe guard for the patient.
What happens when someone is not a member of a professional body, claims to be a ‘healer’ but is of no professional standing. Against what standard are they to be judged?
The duty of care in this scenario goes right back to the initial Stevenson case with a duty of care towards your neighbour, not to make promises or indulge in any practice which is liable to bring your neighbour to harm.
This case opens up wider questions about unregulated ‘therapies’ particularly when the promises made may stop a patient seeking proper medical management of a condition which may be otherwise amenable to therapy.
MDU figures for 2017 show that less than one in six actions in medical negligence actually succeed with the vast majority failing on the grounds of causation. It must be remembered that subsequence is not the same as consequence.
Initial screening is therefore essential to manage client expectations at an early stage. This avoids unnecessary effort and costs for all concerned. Too many cases are taken to Court with no chance of success. This is stressful for both the client and their legal advisor and indeed for the medical personnel involved.
