The Health Professions Council has cleared Dr Sujatha Hariparsad after the death of a man who suffered a suspected heart attack the day after she discharged him.
|||Durban - An Umhlanga doctor was found not guilty by the Health Professions Council on Wednesday for misdiagnosing a patient who died of a suspected heart attack the day after she discharged him in 2008.
“Thank you. Thank you,” an elated Sujatha Hariparsad, of Umhlanga Hospital told her attorney, Altus Janse van Rensburg, after the ruling.
She was also cleared on charges of failing to take a complete history of the patient, failure to admit him for further observation and failure to keep adequate clinical notes.
She appeared before the committee after Pamela Parmanand lodged a complaint following the death of her husband, Ravine.
But Hariparsad is not off the hook yet as Pamela intends suing the doctor, the inquiry heard.
Earlier, Dr Andrew Geard, also of Umhlanga Hospital, who testified as a medical expert, told the committee that Hariparsad had done everything she could for Parmanand.
“She did the electrocardiogram (ECG) test which was normal. She did blood tests, she did everything to exclude myocardial pain.
“There was nothing to suggest the patient must be admitted. I express my condolences (to Parmanand’s family) but Hariparsad was not negligent.”
Under cross-examination by advocate Meshack Mapholisa, Geard agreed Hariparsad should have checked Parmanand’s chest for “tenderness”.
Mapholisa labelled Geard as a “biased” witness who had an interest in the case because he was Hariparsad’s employer.
Geard said Hariparsad had not signed a contract and denied being her employer, saying she worked as a locum doctor.
Van Rensburg called on the committee to make a decision based on evidence.
Before ruling in favour of Hariparsad, committee chairman Albert van der Bilt said that Parmanand was in a stable condition when he left the hospital and the cause of his death had not been proved.
Hariparsad told reporters after the hearing: “I sympathise with the Parmanand family. I am glad it is over.”
The Mercury