thenews.com.pk on December 29, 2011 reported that a local court on Wednesday ordered two-day physical remand of a doctor arrested and charged with keeping a Filipino woman and her two children hostage for almost three years. Officials of the Gulberg Police Station produced Dr Zahid in the court of Judicial Magistrate Danish Afridi, who remanded the accused for two days on the request of the police. The police on Tuesday raided a house in Gulberg and recovered a Filipino woman Meri Gracy along with her three-year-old daughter, Sofia, and 10-month old son.

Continue reading...

expressindia.com on December 29, 2011 reported that Punjab’s Directorate of Research and Medical Education (DRME), the competent authority over private hospitals conducting organ transplants, has suspended the licences of the two hospitals — Silver Oaks (Phase 9) and Surya Kidney Centre (housed in the premises of Shivalik Hospital) — for conducting transplants till they get a clean chit in the inquiry into their alleged involvement in a kidney selling scam which surfaced recently. On December 25, Lucknow Police had busted a kidney scam wherein the four arrested accused had stated that they had lured seven persons to these hospitals for transplants.

Continue reading...

silive.com on December 28, 2011 reported that his website peddled the fantasy of physical perfection — floating images of curvy women and tight, flawless skin. And his slick, Castleton Corners office seemed ready to deliver on the promise, say enraged former patients. But far too often, when Dr. Robert Cattani put people under the knife, the result was anything but beautiful: The plastic surgeon left patients permanently scarred, in chronic pain, and with life-threatening complications and disabilities, according to the state Department of Health, which, earlier this month, revoked his license, calling him "an imminent danger to the health of the people of the state."

Continue reading...

dailyecho.co.uk on December 28, 2011 reported that a nurse convicted of a “predatory” sexual assault on a woman in a Hampshire pub has been barred from the healthcare profession. Patrick Walker groped the drunk 42- year-old’s breasts while she lay slumped on a table in the Standing Order in Southampton High Street. The 52-year-old, who was working as a mental health nurse for Southampton City Council, had also been drinking when he stroked her face, neck and hair. But he was thrown out of the pub and arrested after stunned onlookers, including an off-duty police officer, saw him put his hand down her top.

Continue reading...

asianage.com on December 29, 2011 reported that a woman here died of infection caused by a bundle of cotton gauze mistakenly left in her stomach during a family planning surgery, allegedly conducted by an ENT specialist in a government hospital in a Chhattisgarh district nearly three weeks ago, officials said on Wednesday. State health minister Amar Agrawal on Wednesday placed the alleged errant doctor N.K. Jadu under suspension for performing the “unauthorised” surgery and ordered to fix responsibility.

Continue reading...

yourhoustonnews.com on December 28, 2011 reported that a personal injury civil suit against Kingwood Medical Center Hospital and its contractor Allied Barton Security Services is scheduled to go to trial in March. According to a complaint filed in Harris County civil court, plaintiff Kathleen Silva alleges that gross negligence was at play when she fell in front of the hospital’s Entrance C, where “the designated walkway was uneven and missing a piece of stone,” in May 2009. The complaint states that “Defendants were already aware of the unsafe condition as they were in possession of security reports relating to invitees who had previously fallen in the exact same location.” The defendants in the case deny prior knowledge of previous incidents or a damaged walkway at the location where Silva fell.

Continue reading...

chron.com on December 28, 2011 reported that federal authorities say a Brownsville man who posed as a doctor was part of a scheme that used stem cells from the umbilical cords of women at a border maternity clinic to prey on the hopes of patients with incurable diseases. A 19-page indictment unsealed this week accuses Francisco “Dr. Frank” Morales, 52, and co-defendants including the owner of a maternity clinic in Del Rio and a researcher in South Carolina of netting at least $1.5 million from procedures Morales performed in Mexico on patients he met in the United States.

Continue reading...

news.uk.msn.com on December 28, 2011 reported that two nurses are facing charges of misconduct following the death of a patient. Charge Nurse Faye Wilson is accused of dishonest conduct after a man referred to as Patient A died. It is alleged that she told a relative that he was not looking very well when she knew or believed that he had, in fact, died. She and staff nurse Ma Jenny Quinto are charged with failing to accurately record where Patient A died. The pair face a hearing before the Nursing & Midwifery Council, which has posted the charges on its website.

Continue reading...

sunherald.com on December 27, 2011 reported that a former Coast doctor has pleaded not guilty to a federal charge alleging he was living as a fugitive and had failed to pay thousands of dollars in child support for his two children in Harrison County. Dr. Donald Lee Roberts Jr., previously of Gulfport, was arrested earlier this month trying to enter Mexico, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Roberts was an ear, nose and throat doctor for more than 30 years and operated a Coast clinic before he reportedly disappeared. Roberts was indicted in May 2006, when an arrest warrant was issued. Court documents show the government alleges he has been a fugitive from justice since then and had been living outside the United States to avoid prosecution.

Continue reading...

timesofindia.com on December 27, 2011 reported that the death of an infant due to an alleged faulty surgery at an illegal hospital in the city, seems to have jolted the district administration out of its slumber, if the crackdown on illegal clinics and nursing homes on Monday is anything to go by. A team of district health officials raided a few nursing homes in the city and sealed two health care centres – Sukanya hospital at Badambadi and Highway nursing home located at Sikharpur area – that were running illegally in the city since the past few years. The facilities were unregistered and functioning in the city without a valid license. The sealed units had not even applied for registration under the Clinical Establishments Act, said health officials.

Continue reading...

mirror.co.uk on December 28, 2011 reported that the nurse sacked for stealing pain drugs from the tainted saline hospital has appealed against her dismissal. The Nursing and Midwifery Council lifted Rebecca Leighton’s suspension after she was cleared of criminal charges, but Stepping Hill Hospital bosses fired her after an internal probe. Ms Leighton, 27, told police she had stolen the drugs, which were opiate based, because she had a throat infection. She had spent six weeks in custody after she was accused of tampering with saline solution on wards of the Stockport hospital. She was released in September when the criminal charges against her were dropped.

Continue reading...

tvnz.co.nz on December 27, 2011 reported that a Christchurch nurse who bought a patient an ice-cream and accessed her clinical file has been found guilty of professional misconduct. Paul Shennan was dismissed from his position as a registered nurse at Hillmorton Hospital in February after he accessed a patient's clinical file, texted her, took her to McDonald's, bought her an ice-cream and paid for her to have a haircut. He was found guilty by the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal and ordered to pay $5000 in costs.

Continue reading...

nbcwashington.com on December 27, 2011 reported that a man who runs a pain management clinic in Chantilly, Virginia, has been charged with multiple counts related to the unlawful distribution of a controlled narcotic. Prosecutors said that in one year, the pain clinic "Chantilly Specialists," run by Paul Boccone, wrote prescriptions for the distribution of 800,000 OxyCodone-based pills to 600 patients. OxyCodone is a poweful, controlled narcotic that can result in addiction and death if not properly applied. Boccone has operated his pain clinic in Chantilly since 2005, first on Parke Long Court, and then moving it to 4200 Lafayette Center Drive. Prosecutors said he made all the decisions on the day-to-day management of the clinic, and at times also saw patients there, referring to himself as Doctor Boccone.

Continue reading...

asianage.com on December 27, 2011 reported that a city court granted bail to a gynaecologist arrested for her alleged negligence in a case of child birth leading to the death of the woman after the delivery. Additional sessions judge Ravinder Kaur granted bail to Dr Namrata of Arogya Niketan Clinic in Dwarka, saying the police has not been able to link the death to the doctor’s negligence. “The prosecution has failed to show as to what act of the accused was negligent in conducting the delivery of deceased Lata and what was the nexus between the negligent act of the accused and the excessive bleeding resulting in her death,” the court said. As per the prosecution, Lata was taken to Dr Namrata’s clinic on November 19, 2009 where she delivered a girl child and was discharged the same day. She, however, had to be rushed back to shortly as she suffered heavy bleeding and her condition deteriorated.

Continue reading...

dailytimes.com.pk on December 25, 2011 reported that the anti-corruption police on Saturday conducted a raid at the Lyari General Hospital and seized some low-grade and expired medicines besides the pharmacy record. Anti-Corruption and Establishment Karachi Deputy Director Javed Baloch said that a team of anti-corruption on a tip-off conducted a raid at the Lyari General Hospital and seized expired and low quality medicines being given to the patients.

Continue reading...

kptv.com on December 27, 2011 reported that an Oregon man who conned people in thinking he was a doctor will spend more than three years in prison. Lucas Ebert, 21, was sentenced Friday after pleading guilty last month to criminal mistreatment and practicing medicine without a license.

Continue reading...

inforum.com on December 25, 2011 reported that a Wahpeton-area doctor whose Minnesota medical license was suspended indefinitely last month continues to treat patients in North Dakota as the state’s Board of Medical Practice considers allegations that he improperly prescribes pain medication. Dr. James Wasemiller, 65, has a history of disciplinary actions dating back to 1992, when the Minnesota Board of Medical Examiners restricted his license based on unprofessional and unethical conduct, inappropriate prescriptions and failure to keep adequate records.

Continue reading...