SCIENCE, MEDICAL, LAW, HUMOR, CHILDREN

PATIENTS� V. DOCTORS� PLIGHT� Rated 4.5 by 4 viewers

PATIENTS’ V. DOCTORS’ PLIGHT— Rated 4.5 by 4 viewers


Wasted body, gnawing pain,
Needles thrust in every vein;
X-ray, CAT- scan and blood test,
No hope, no sleep and no rest.

Doctors come in their white coats,
Nurses to them bring reports;
Doctors say: “It’s a rare case
A slew of tests he must face,

Because tests are necessary,
To quell the adversary.
If a case is brought in court,
These tests will give us support”.

Doctors know perfectly wel,l
But they do not want to tell
That he is destined to die,
Whatever treatment they try.

Doctors, too, are human beings.
They, too, have tender feelings.
However their hands are tied;
With law they have to abide.

Law is clear: ‘ the ‘patient is
Consumer of services’.
The poor doctor at all times,
Must be careful that none finds

Any hint of negligence,
Or even mere pretence
Of some deficiency,
Alleged incompetency.

In such a situation odd,
To prove he is not a fraud;
The doctor must know his law
And prove that he has no flaw.

This, then, is the doctor’s plight,
But there is no respite;
To escape from law ever,
Doctors must be so clever.


* Written in aabb 7-7-7-7 format

* The author is a doctor turned lawyer, specializing in medico-legal cases

M C Gupta

Created: 3 August 2003 as item 730510
Deleted as independent item: 25-12-04