Dishonest doctors

"Dishonest doctors are everywhere, though still a minority. Prosecuting a few will not make any significant change, but taking action to eliminate the root causes surely will.

- BY DR UPUL WIJAYAWARDHANA

The arrest of a female neurosurgeon working in Sri Jayewardenepura Hospital with two accomplices, for fraud, has created a media frenzy about dishonest doctors—not surprisingly!

In social media, she is being castigated with the strongest of words, sometimes in raw filth, and curses that may befit even worse crimes. No one will disagree that she deserves to be castigated, in addition to being committed to a long prison sentence, if even some of the charges are proven. My words of caution, in no way, are an attempt to defend a member of my chosen profession; in fact, in my past writings, I have vented my frustrations over the ignoble acts committed by some members of the noble profession. I am simply trying to point out that before castigation, perhaps, we should pause and consider honouring the long-cherished legal principle of ‘innocent till proven guilty.’ Further, we cannot afford to forget the lessons learnt, if at all they were, from the ‘Dr Shafi incident’ This doctor, accused of much worse crimes, was hung and quartered by the media as well as the public inflamed by mass hysteria ignited by some ill-informed or scheming politicians, to be cleared of all charges! Attempts at selective justice, due to politicisation, seems to be an underlying problem.