Legitimately Concerning Health Care

It represents a true failure of a physician to respond to the urgent need of a patient, to overlook frequent reminders and requests that the doctor take the patient's past medical history seriously. When there is a family history of a specific type of health breakdown that places a patient at high risk of being victimized through a genetic predisposition to certain maladies, any doctor must surely be aware that frequent and specific tests must be undertaken.

Yet a doctor who practices at the Village Health Centre in Osgoode appears to feel that she did not err in ignoring the constant pleas of her patient, Karen Holmes. Ottawa physician Dr. Ferrukh Faruqui, for five years, brushed off the requests of Ms. Holmes that she be prescribed routine mammograms to ensure that she hadn't contracted breast cancer. Now, Ms. Holmes has filed a statement of claim in Ontario Superior Court against Dr. Faruqui.

And Dr. Faruqui, as is her legal right, has stated through her lawyer that it is her intention to defend herself against the lawsuit. Which should make for an interesting court procedure in an Ottawa courthouse. Just to see how a lawyer, working on behalf of another professional, will manage to somehow make it seem reasonable that a doctor would overlook her patient's need, an medically-diagnostically obvious one, given personal precedents.

According to Dr. Faruqui, it was "unnecessary" in her professional opinion, for her patient, 54-year-old Karen Holmes, to undergo regular mammograms. Another doctor - possibly any other doctor - might consider it to be prudent to prescribe annual mammograms given the circumstances of Ms. Holmes's medical history, but evidently not Dr. Faruqui.

And then, a later examination revealed that Ms. Holmes had large tumours in both breasts.

"The negligence of (Dr. Faruqui) ... caused or contributed to the serious and permanent injuries suffered by the plaintiff Karen Holmes ... but for Dr. Faruqui's failure to order regular and timely mammograms, as had been the practise throughout the plaintiff Karen Holmes' history, the tumours would have been detected at a much earlier stage, the failure of which significantly worsened the eventual outcome suffered.
"As a result of the negligence and breach of contract of the defendant, she suffered a prolonged and unnecessary period of severe pain and disability, has had to undergo further surgical procedures, suffering complications therefrom, and will be unable to perform everyday functions and will always have pain and soreness in the affected areas."

At the very beginning of their professional relationship Ms. Holmes had relayed to Dr. Faruqui the fact that she had been medically identified as being at an increased risk for the development of breast cancer. As such she required frequent monitoring. "The said defendant was aware or ought to have been aware of the requirement for vigilance in the care of Karen Holmes", reads the legal claim.

A mammogram that Ms. Holmes eventually underwent on January 29, 2010 revealed malignancies in both of her breasts. The diagnosis was cancer at an advanced stage; cancer which had spread into her lymph nodes under both arms necessitating a double mastectomy. She received accelerated treatment and high doses of radiation. The statement of claim mentions as well Ms. Holmes' medical expenses and loss of future income.

"It's a terrible outcome but nothing has been proved. When this happens it's terrible for the patient. As a doctor we all hope for the best for patients and wish their health was the best", commiserated Dr. Faruqui.

It is sadly revealing to view the doctor's website with its "Beauty Restored" slogan. Beauty Enhanced describes a number of cosmetic procedures available through the ministrations of this doctor, including chemical skin peels and wrinkle therapy with Botox. This, then, is the area where the good doctor's practise appears to be concerned; surface cosmetic appearance.

Any individuals seeking the care of a family physician should surely be sufficiently aware to do an online search, just to make certain they are placing their health care in the hands of a medical practitioner who has a more in-depth, and 'medical' outlook on health care. It seems in this particular case these details eluded one patient.