SINGAPORE: A doctor has been suspended for 13 months after failing to refer his patient – who had an infected right foot – to the hospital’s emergency department or a specialist for treatment.
The patient visited Dr Lim Geok Leong, a general practitioner, five times and later had to undergo amputations on his right leg. He can no longer walk now.
He was having conditions such as gangrene in his toes, necrosis or dead tissue, and cellulitis – a potentially serious bacterial infection.
Dr Lim, whose age was not disclosed in the grounds of the decision published on May 15, was practising at Central Medical Group in Bukit Merah in April 2022 when the patient visited him.
Looking at the foot’s condition, Dr Lim assessed him to be suffering from severe and extensive cellulitis and severe diabetes.
He prescribed the patient, who was not named in the judgment, with oral antibiotics and advised him to return for a review four days later.
The patient returned four more times in April and May 2022.
Each time, Dr Lim assessed that the condition remained unchanged or had improved since the last visit, and continued treating him with oral antibiotics and other medication.
He did not refer the patient to the emergency department of a hospital or a specialist.
