Motivation

 

DZ has commented in the past about doctors who subordinate their duty to their patients to their own, less worthy, priorities. Usually financial, and, more often than not, the way they conduct them selves in their private practice.

I’ll repeat an old joke of mine;

Q. What’s the difference between doctors and prostitutes?

A. There are some things prostitutes won’t do for money.

But sometimes the ulterior motivation is not financial, and two cases have been publicised that I find quite astounding.

The first is this case where a French anaesthetist is accused of killing some of his patients. Any Anaesthetist routinely uses drugs which can very easily kill. Muscle relaxants, opiates, dysrythmogenic drugs can all cause death if the patient is not closely monitored, and, where indicated, supported.

Dysfunctional relationships between Anaesthetists and their surgical colleagues are not unusual and on rare occasions tempers can flare. 

So Dr Pechier, the anaesthetist, was not unusual in having some colleagues he viewed as enemies. What was unusual , it is alleged, is that he took his revenge on the surgeons he disliked by deliberately killing their patients. Twelve of them in total.

The other case concerns a British vascular surgeon, so someone well practiced with amputating legs. This guy deliberately packed dry ice around his legs to freeze them to the point where they required amputation. He apparently did this for sexual satisfaction!! Now DZ has heard of a lot of weird and wonderful ways that people, almost invariably men, can get their rocks off. But this is a new one on me. But that wasn’t enough. He then tried to claim on an insurance policy claiming he had lost his legs due to sepsis. Although the insurance money, almost half a million pounds, was paid, he was subsequently found out, and has now been jailed for fraud.

The surgeon has a most appropriate name. Neil Hopper!!