Health Services Commissioner Annual Report 2000/2001

A young female patient went to consult a dentist about stain removal from her
teeth. The dentist said he could clean and de-scale her teeth and she agreed to
the procedure, but warned him that she was very anxious and could become
panicky if she thought she could not breathe during the treatment. The dentist
told her if she became distressed for any reason she should simply raise her left
hand and signal to him. She did this twice during the treatment and the dentist
stopped as agreed and allowed her to sit up and take a break. On the third
occasion he became angry, threw an instrument across the room, swore at her
and told her she was too pathetic to help and to go elsewhere for her treatment.
When contacted by the HSC the dentist claimed he was an excellent
communicator and no-one else had ever complained about him. He accused the
woman of having mental problems. He said, he would not respond to her in
writing as it was too much trouble and she was the one in the wrong. Because of
this response, the matter was not suitable for conciliation and was referred to the
Dental Practice Board of Victoria. After speaking with the Board and his
professional association the dentist telephoned the HSC and offered to apologise
to the woman and refund her fee.
A man went to a naturopath because of pain in his shoulders from playing golf.
The naturopath massaged the man’s shoulders and manipulated his neck. He
felt an immediate sharp pain which worsened over the next few days. He went
back to the naturopath who explained he might feel worse for a while before he
began to feel better. The pain decreased over time and eventually disappeared,
but the man felt angry he had not been warned of the possibility of the pain
becoming worse. He had also been fearful some permanent harm had occurred.
The naturopath agreed she had not warned him adequately on this occasion,
although she normally did do this. She agreed to refund the fees he had paid her
and he decided not to pursue the matter further.
Table 11 below shows the types of complaints made in relation to rights.
Table 11. Rights issues
Rights 10%
Accuracy of records 9
Access to records 20
Assault 35
Discrimination 17
No/insufficient consent 19
Unprofessional conduct 45
Other 21
Privacy/confidentiality 64
Health Services Commissioner Annual Report 2000/2001 37