KUCHING: Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah has called upon to make sure that a nurse is present whenever a doctor carries out physical examinations on patients.
The State Women, Early Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development Minister said that when a male doctor treats a female patient, especially on private parts, there should always be a nurse in attendance and likewise.
“The patient’s trust is broken and incidence like this (doctor allegedly molesting a patient during a medical check-up) does not help to reduce the stigma.
“This may also cause reluctance of women patients seeing a male doctor, especially in cases that have to do with an examination of the very private parts of their bodies like during antenatal, postnatal check-up, mammogram, pap smear, treatment for breast and ovary cancer,” she told New Sarawak Tribune when contacted for comments on the case of a medical doctor suspected of molesting a female patient here.
Recently, a 28-year-old male medical officer at a local medical centre here was arrested after a 34-year-old woman accused the doctor of molesting her during a medical check-up around 11.30 am on Dec 29.
The suspect was released on police bail on Dec 30, however Kuching deputy police chief Supt Merbin Lisa said that further investigations on the case are still being carried out.
To this, Fatimah referred the case as ‘Harapkan pagar, pagar makan padi’ (Fox guarding the henhouse).
“The ministry takes this matter seriously and hopes that such cases, if found to be true, won’t happen in the future again,” she said.
