Court drops malpractice suit

The patient is said to have died from the incorrect dosage of anaesthetic, the Public Health Ministry's permanent secretary, Dr Prat Boonyawongsevirot, said.

The Thung Song district's criminal court had issued a guilty verdict on December 6 and sentenced Suthiporn to three years in jail for causing the patient's death. However, the Health Ministry submitted a petition with the appeal court's division 8 to review the sentence.

The petition said that Suthiporn had been assigned by the Health Ministry to provide care to people in remote areas and that according to the Medical Council's regulations physicians had to treat all patients even if they were not specialists because of the large amount of sick people.

He said the court's decision to overthrow Suthiporn's guilty verdict boosted the morale of medical workers in rural areas.

"If doctors who work in rural hospitals refuse to conduct surgeries because they are not specialists, then it would be dangerous for patients because the country's health care system lacks specialists, especially anaesthesiologists and surgeons," Prat said, adding that the patient's family would be compensated by the Health Ministry.