WEEKLY BULLETIN: 20 FEBRUARY 2015
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<strong>WEEKLY</strong> <strong>BULLETIN</strong>: <strong>20</strong> <strong>FEBRUARY</strong> <strong>20</strong>15
MEMBERS ON THE MOVE<br />
The Medical Law Society of the Commonwealth of Nations has great pleasure to announce the<br />
establishment of our first branch in India [Great Noida, Delhi]. Below are the members of first branch and<br />
we wish them the best of luck in their official projects of the Medical Law Society of the Commonwealth<br />
of Nations. We applaud these men and women for dedicating their time and energy to making a difference<br />
in the global issues that affect us all on some level.<br />
Manuj Bhardwaj - Local Ambassador; Sapna Arora - First Secretary; Pranjal Gautam -<br />
Second Secretary; Kshitij Sharma - Branch Administrator; Aanya Shrotriya; Mohd.<br />
Humaid; Saif Eqbal; Aman Mehrotra; Abhinav Srivastava; Nikita Chaudhary<br />
Congratulations to you all!<br />
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A covenant of trust.<br />
“The goals of medicine as a profession dedicated to healing and caring of the sick in a<br />
dignified manner depend very much on a stable and trusting doctor-patient<br />
relationship…Adopting a patient centered philosophy in the doctor-patient relationship<br />
imposes the duty on doctors to do the utmost in caring for patients, and allows the sick to<br />
claim their right to humane and dignified care from doctors. As suggested in an editorial<br />
in Lancet a year ago, the terms “patient”, and not “customer” or “client” as some would<br />
advocate, best portrays this fiduciary nature of the relationship. Only by restoring the<br />
element of trust in this ageless patient-physician covenant, can the soul of the medical<br />
profession be restored and preserved regardless of technological and social changes in<br />
society”. The full journal article can be read at: http://www.unihildesheim.de/~beneke/WS03-04/Thesen04.pdf.
COMMONWEALTH DAY - 9 MARCH <strong>20</strong>15<br />
Commonwealth Day is celebrated across the Commonwealth by young people, schools,<br />
communities and civil society organisations on the second Monday in March every year.<br />
It provides an opportunity to promote understanding on global issues, international cooperation<br />
and the work of Commonwealth organisations.<br />
SPECIAL OFFER<br />
50% off membership fees.<br />
From now until 9 March <strong>20</strong>15 you can join<br />
the Medical Law Society of the<br />
Commonwealth of Nations for only US $25.
Secretary-General announces new online health initiative<br />
Speaking at the Opening Ceremony of the 14th World Congress on Public Health on the<br />
11 February <strong>20</strong>15, Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma announced the<br />
new online health initiative ‘CommonHealth’. He said: “CommonHealth will be a secure<br />
cloud-based platform, designed to provide an authoritative source of health information,<br />
communication, networking, learning best practices in varying environments, and<br />
collaboration for healthcare professionals across the Commonwealth. “It will connect<br />
Commonwealth communities of doctors, nurses, allied healthcare practitioners and policy<br />
makers and allow members to access online communities, search for information, and<br />
where appropriate create expert groups to collaborate and develop projects.”Read the full<br />
story at http://thecommonwealth.org/media/news/secretary-general-announces-newonline-health-initiative-commonhealth<br />
Bangladesh to get $300-million World Bank loan for child<br />
health<br />
Bangladesh is to get a $300-million loan from the World Bank's International Development<br />
Association (IDA) to help improve child nutrition after a deal was signed on Monday.The<br />
project will provide financial help to about 600,000 of the country's poorest mothers."The<br />
project will help poor mothers learn how to improve the nutrition of their young children<br />
and also provide an income supplement to enable them to better act on that learning," said<br />
Johannes Zutt, the World Bank's country director for Bangladesh.Despite Bangladesh’s<br />
record of reducing child mortality, it remains among the 10 countries with the highest<br />
prevalence of malnutrition and 41 percent of children below the age of 5 have stunted<br />
growth, according to the World Health Organization. Read the full article at<br />
http://www.reuters.com/article/<strong>20</strong>15/02/09/us-bangladesh-aid-worldbankidUSKBN0LD1L7<strong>20</strong>150<strong>20</strong>9
Bid to cap medical malpractice payouts<br />
Durban - Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has put a radical plan on the table to limit<br />
payouts to victims of medical malpractice. Instead of lump sum payouts, for those who<br />
successfully sued the state, the minister wants them to be paid in instalments, which would<br />
cease on death, with no payments going to their families. And rather than cash payment<br />
for future medical expenses, a claimant would instead have to use public health facilities.<br />
The sweeping reforms, which would require changes to the law, have been proposed by<br />
Motsoaledi in an effort to put a cap on the spiralling medical negligence claims facing the<br />
state. During the <strong>20</strong>12/<strong>20</strong>13 financial year, the KZN Department of Health faced medical<br />
negligence claims totalling almost R1 billion (more than R992 million). This was R300<br />
million more than the previous financial year. There were 306 medical negligence claims<br />
in Gauteng, amounting to R1.286 billion while the Eastern Cape department faced lawsuits<br />
in excess of R875-million in the same financial year. Read the full article at<br />
http://www.iol.co.za/news/politics/bid-to-cap-medical-malpractice-payouts-<br />
1.1813364#.VOSPRmccRMw<br />
Medical negligence costs ‘threat’ to National Health<br />
Service<br />
A soaring bill from medical negligence damages has become a threat to the National Health<br />
Service, says one of the most senior business figures in Whitehall. He said there was a<br />
question as to whether patients should lose their right to sue. The NHS Litigation<br />
Authority, which provides indemnity cover for legal claims against the health service, has<br />
set aside £26.1bn to cover outstanding liabilities, equivalent to almost a quarter of the<br />
£113bn annual health budget: £1.6bn was paid out last year. The number of claims rose<br />
almost 18 per cent in the year from March <strong>20</strong>13. Jeremy Hunt, the health secretary, will<br />
on Wednesday announce financial sanctions for hospitals that fail to be honest about<br />
clinical mistakes, in a sign of growing concern about compensation costs.<br />
Read the full article at http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f4da10f6-a255-11e4-9630-<br />
00144feab7de.html#axzz3S6NNZtrG<br />
Delhi govt asked to pay Rs 8L for medical negligence at<br />
LNJP<br />
New Delhi: The apex consumer commission has asked the Delhi government to pay over<br />
Rs 8 lakh to the kin of a 46-year-old man who died due to "gross negligence" at the staterun<br />
LNJP hospital while being subjected to radiotherapy. A bench of National Consumer<br />
Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC), presided by Justice D K Jain, asked the Delhi<br />
government to pay Rs 8.25 lakh to the wife and three children of Ghaziabad resident<br />
Ramveer Singh, who died in October <strong>20</strong>04. Read the full article at<br />
http://zeenews.india.com/news/delhi/delhi-govt-asked-to-pay-rs-8l-for-medicalnegligence-at-lnjp_1538142.html
India vs South Africa: It’s a big knock for us to get<br />
beaten by 130 runs, says AB de Villiers<br />
South Africa captain AB de Villiers says the implications of his side’s 130-run loss to India<br />
run a lot deeper than just a setback in its World Cup campaign. (Full Coverage| Points<br />
table| Fixtures). The South Africans were comprehensively outplayed by the defending<br />
champions India in their Pool B match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday, and<br />
de Villiers is concerned about the effect the defeat will have on the morale of his team.<br />
“It’s a big knock for us to get beaten by 130 runs,” he said. “It’s almost embarrassing. You<br />
never want to lose by that amount of runs.” While he’s still confident of South Africa<br />
advancing to the quarterfinals, de Villiers did not try to underplay the impact Sunday’s loss<br />
will have on his players.<br />
Read the full article at http://indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket-worldcup/2300549/india-vs-south-africa-its-a-big-knock-for-us-to-get-beaten-by-130-runssays-ab-de-villiers/<br />
GAYLE RECORD DOUBLE BLOWS ZIMBABWE<br />
AWAY<br />
The records didn’t just tumble at the Manuka Oval on Tuesday (February 24), they were<br />
smashed out of the park. The highest partnership in ODI history (372), putting Sachin<br />
Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid (331) in the shade. The most balls a pair has batted together<br />
(298), again displacing the same duo. The highest score in a World Cup, eclipsing Gary<br />
Kirsten’s 188 not out against United Arab Emirates in 1996. The most number of sixes in<br />
an ODI innings (16), drawing level with AB de Villiers and Rohit Sharma. Chris Gayle<br />
and Marlon Samuels came together with the scoreboard showing 0-1 after two balls. By<br />
the time Gayle was caught off a miscue on the final ball of the innings, he had galumphed<br />
his way to 215 off 147 balls. Samuels had eased to 133 from 156. The West Indies had 372<br />
for 2, its highest ODI total. Read the full article at http://www.icc-cricket.com/cricketworld-cup/news/<strong>20</strong>15/news/86121/gayle-record-double-blows-zimbabwe-away
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