Dr Kong Sim Guan admitted to failing to document his patient's vital signs, and did not check his condition while on the ferry and on arrival in Singapore in June 2021.
SINGAPORE: A doctor has been ordered not to provide medical services for evacuations or medical transport for 18 months, after allegedly failing on several fronts in his care for a COVID-19 patient who was transported from Batam to Singapore for treatment.
These purported lapses by Dr Kong – also known as Sim Heng Guan – were detailed in written grounds of decision released on Monday by an interim orders committee appointed by the Singapore Medical Council . The case was then referred to a Complaints Committee, which in turn referred the matter to an interim orders committee due to several concerns with Dr Kong’s conduct as the sole registered doctor in charge of evacuating the patient.
This does not prevent Dr Kong from administering immediate life-saving procedures, such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation if a patient is in cardiac arrest, when he is among the nearest available medical practitioners. The patient also arrived at the ferry terminal late because he experienced breathlessness and had to first be stabilised at the Batam hospital.
Despite these signs of distress, Dr Kong did not check the patient’s status. He also did not record the patient’s vital signs after they got to Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal. However, Dr Kong knew he was the only qualified person to be the crew leader during the ambulance conveyance. He did not monitor the patient’s status and did not provide care.
Meanwhile, Dr Kong made several claims. He said there was"no indication" of the EMT detecting an emergency with the patient during the ambulance journey. He added that he frequently looked behind at the ambulance cabin but did not see the EMT doing any continuous monitoring of the patient's breathing.
“Dr Kong had come out of retirement to help Mr F1 and his ambulance service out of friendship. However, this episode had put a strain on Dr Kong physically. As a heart patient, Dr Kong does not wish to put his health and his life on the line just for doing such a service,” said the interim orders committee in its grounds of decision.
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