NRI
Dr. Shanta Dhar arrested on suspicion of manslaughter
NRI, Dr. Shanta Dhar has been arrested by police
after ambulance staff accused her not trying to resuscitate
a dying patient. Later on she was released on bail
pending further inquiries. She also banned from single-handedly
examining any patient....
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GP arrested over death of patient, 78
Police began a manslaughter investigation after
ambulance staff complained that a doctor had not attempted
to resuscitate a pensioner
Britain, Jan. 16, 2006
David Sanderson
The Times
A DOCTOR has been arrested by police on suspicion
of manslaughter after ambulance staff accused her
of failing to carry out resuscitation on a dying patient.
Dr Shanta Dhar was questioned by police after a coroner
ordered an investigation into the circumstances surrounding
the death of Joan Board, 78, in December.
Detectives arrested Dr Dhar, 70, on Friday on suspicion
of manslaughter, malfeasance and perverting the course
of justice. She has been bailed pending further inquiries
and has been banned from single-handedly examining
any patients.
Mrs Board collapsed at her home in North London on
December 2 during a house visit by Dr Dhar, who is
a senior partner at the Willow House surgery. The
doctor phoned for an ambulance.
Despite paramedics carrying out CPR – cardiopulmonary
resuscitation – Mrs Board died on the way to
the hospital. Heart disease was given as the cause
of death at her post-mortem examination.
At Hornsey Coroner’s Court in London on Wednesday,
Andrew Walker, the coroner, ordered an investigation
into her death after complaints from the London Ambulance
Service and from Mrs Board’s family.
It is understood that ambulance personnel believe
that earlier CPR would have given Mrs Board a better
chance of survival. A spokesman for Hornsey Coroner’s
Court confirmed that complaints had also been received
from Mrs Board’s family.
London Ambulance Service said that it had been called
at 2.40pm on December 2 to Mrs Board’s home address
in Enfield. A spokeswoman said: “The patient
was experiencing breathing difficulties. A fast- response
vehicle and an ambulance were sent out. They made
attempts to resuscitate this patient at the scene
and en route to the hospital.”
A police spokeswoman said: “A 70-year-old woman
was arrested on Friday, January 13, in connection
with the inquiry. She was interviewed at a northeast
London police station and released on bail.
“She was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter,
malfeasance in a public office and perverting the
course of justice. CID at Enfield are investigating
and they will pass a report to the coroner in due
course.
“The investigation has arisen from concerns
from within the London Ambulance Service and Mrs Board’s
family about emergency respiratory procedures.”
According to the police, Dr Dhar’s bail conditions
are that she must surrender her passport, she must
not single-handedly examine patients in relation to
her profession as a doctor and she must abide by the
advice of the primary care trust and/or the General
Medical Council.
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation can include repeatedly
pushing down firmly on the patient’s chest, using
electric shocks to restart the heart, mouth-to-mouth
breathing, and inflating the lungs through inserting
a tube into the windpipe.
Historically, CPR was not a compulsory component
of a GP’s training and it is understood that
there is no formal requirement for a GP to be fully
trained in resuscitation techniques, although the
British Medical Association has said in the past that
it would prefer that all doctors keep their training
up to date.
Dr Dhar, who was registered as a doctor in September
1970 and received her first medical qualification
at Vikram University, Madhya Pradesh, India, in 1959,
could not be contacted for comment.
The British Medical Association said that it could
not comment on the case.
In June 2005 The Times reported that the BMA believed
that hospital dramas on television were giving the
public an unrealistic expectation of a doctor’s
ability to resuscitate a patient.
At one of its conferences, one of the association’s
members, Dr Andrew Thomson, called on the Government
to balance the “sugar-coated” media portrayal
of CPR. He said that fewer than half of patients whose
hearts stopped in hospital survived the initial event
and of those only a third went home. He added that
when the public tried the kiss of life the survival
rate was about 2 per cent.
