Medical Brief 251 - 02 May 2019
"The SA Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists has “noted with significant concern” a High Court judgement that upheld the sentence of five years direct imprisonment for Dr Danie van der Walt, a gynaecologist who caused the death of a woman through professional negligence. SASOG said the judgement was a worrying precedent and called for “urgent sector-wide law reform” of the issues the incident raised.
The SASOG statement reads:
Without having access to the full judgement, the South African Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (SASOG) notes with significant concern the court judgement that upheld the sentencing of a respected colleague to jail in a case of professional negligence.
We lament the loss of the young mother following a complicated normal delivery and our hearts go out to the family that lost a mother, sister and daughter.
SASOG supports all efforts to prevent loss of life during childbearing and our own programme to support excellence in clinical practice in obstetrics, called BetterObs, and has been implemented in most private institutions in South Africa."
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