An Indian doctor practicing in Singapore has been suspended from practicing medicine for three years after being found to have inappropriately prescribed long-term sedatives to patients, according to media reports on Thursday.
Mander Singh Shahi, 61, a family doctor with more than 30 years of experience, faces Singapore disciplinary action after it was discovered that he had been prescribing sedatives to seven patients at his clinic over a period of more than 10 years. He was suspended from his job by the court. channel news asia report.
The three-judge bench accepted the Singapore Medical Council’s (SMC) application for a suspended sentence, but rejected Dr Singh’s bid for a reduction in sentence due to delays in prosecution. Singh was practicing at the then 81 Family Clinic in Marine Parade Central. The clinic has since been renamed Legacy Clinic, the report said.
Dr Shahi pleaded guilty in court to 14 counts of professional misconduct relating to his conduct between 2002 and 2016. He did not refer patients or refer them to psychiatrists or medical professionals in a timely manner. and she did not maintain sufficient details in the patient’s medical records,” the report states.
Benzodiazepines treat a variety of conditions such as insomnia and anxiety, while zolpidem and zopiclone are non-benzodiazepine drugs that treat insomnia. Dr. Singh prescribed these drugs to affected patients for periods ranging from 7 years to 13 years and 8 months.
The patient Dr. Singh treated the longest, identified only as P3, was seen more than 300 times for insomnia. SMC’s Code of Ethics and Guidelines require physicians to use these drugs intermittently or prescribe them for short-term symptom relief for two to four weeks. It also calls for limiting chronic benzodiazepine prescriptions to the extent possible, the report said.
SMC alleged that Dr. Singh exposed the patient to a substantial possibility of serious injury or harm by inappropriately prescribing hypnotics. These long-term prescriptions undoubtedly created or encouraged dependence and tolerance to the drugs in patients, the SMC added.
“The Disciplinary Court has held that the main sentencing principle in cases involving the inappropriate prescription of benzodiazepine and non-benzodiazepine hypnotics is deterrence, given that such misconduct appears to be increasingly prevalent. To make himself feel better, Dr. Singh said he was not motivated by profit or greed and wanted to help his patients by prescribing them hypnotics, the newspaper noted.
Dr. Singh said he tried to refer three patients to a psychiatrist, but they did not want to be referred. In such a situation, he did not want to alienate them and felt it was important for them to remain under his care and continue to monitor their condition. In his defence, Dr Singh also said that he had a very busy practice.
(With input from agency)