Health and Disability Commissioner – GP violates code after inflicting physical contact on the face of a young child

A GP who inflicted physical contact on the face of a two-year-old during a consultation should have known better, the Health and Disability Commissioner has found.

The little boy, who had been ill with conjunctivitis and fever for a few days, was with his mother when he saw the family doctor at an emergency medical center in September 2018.

The GP saw the girl at the end of an exceptionally busy day: she had started work at 10.15am, had double and triple bookings throughout the day, did not take breaks due to her heavy workload and saw the girl after closing hours. around 7.15pm.

During the consultation, the child was tired, restless, writhing, and upset.

After the boy kicked the GP, the GP inflicted physical contact on the boy’s face with all or part of his hand, in what the GP described as a “hit,” but his mother said That was a “slap”.

The GP told HDC that the sick boy struggled and kicked him in the stomach as she examined his left ear and eye.

“In a reflex of shock, he struck Master A’s cheek with his fourth and fifth fingers,” the HDC heard.

“He said it was a light blow and not a forceful movement, and without intention to hurt.”

The GP said he immediately apologized after the incident.

But the boy’s mother refuted this version of events, saying: “During his review, my son [frustrated] and threw a tantrum in which he threw his arms and legs and kicked the doctor [Dr B] where he then slapped him across the face. “

Contrary to what the family doctor says, the child’s mother said that the incident occurred after the family doctor had examined the child.

He said his son kicked the GP’s leg, rather than his stomach, and in response the GP rolled his chair forward and slapped the 2-year-old in the face.

“The slap was strong and shocking,” he told HDC.

Ultimately, Health and Disability Commissioner Anthony Hill said it was not necessary for him to make a finding about the precise nature of the contact, as any contact with the child’s face, unrelated to a clinical evaluation, was ” a serious departure from accepted standards. “

“It would not be unusual for [the GP] experiencing irritable or uncooperative young patients when they are unwell, “he said.

“While I do not condone any patient kicking their doctor, I hope that the proper mechanisms are put in place to respond to this, should it occur.”

The incident was “unpleasant and unprofessional,” Hill said, and the act eroded the trust that until then the boy’s mother had in the family doctor as her son’s doctor.

Hill discovered that the GP violated two rights of the Code of Rights of Consumers of Health Services and the Disabled (the code), as he did not treat the child with reasonable care and skill, and his physical contact with the child’s face it was disrespectful.

The GP has provided a written apology to the mother and has received further training since the incident.

Hill noted that the incident seemed out of place to the GP, and said no
consider that the incident reflects your general competence or is likely to occur again.

However, the GP was an adult medical professional and the patient was a sick two-year-old.

“I consider Dr. B’s response to Master A’s behavior on September 19, 2018, to be inappropriate, and I am critical of this,” Hill said.

“He clearly should have known better and, as he has acknowledged, he has used many possible strategies at his disposal to prevent the date from escalating to this point.”

She reminded the GP of her responsibility to her patients and herself and to ensure that she is monitoring her own well-being and workload.

Hill was critical of the medical center where the GP worked as he had double and triple bookings throughout the day, covered another doctor, took care of some particularly complex cases, and had not taken a break during the day .

“While I accept that clinical staff have individual responsibility for managing their workload and well-being, I am concerned to read about the pressures on Dr. B on the day in question, and I believe that the medical center should have taken corrective action before”.

Since the incident, the medical center had implemented a new system to manage workloads, imposed increased restrictions around double and triple pooling of physicians and adjusted workloads for its physicians, it told HDC.