Brunei Patient chose Dr Susan Lim above OTHER

According to todays The Business Times (1 Mar 2011) there was an abuse of trust” between doctor and patient. The patient was under the doctor’s care since 2001. The Straits Times (24 Feb 2011) and The New Paper on Sunday (27 February 2011) stated that she was also under the care of at least 8 other specialists and famous oncologist, Prof Smith, from London yet the patient chose Dr Lim as her principal doctor repeatedly.

It seems the patient would not see any other doctor without Dr Lim’s presence and medical input. According to the paper (The Straits Times 24 Feb 2011) all of Dr Lim’s preceding bills before 2007 were paid in full therefore, the patient knew and agreed to Dr Lim’s fees despite having so many other eminent specialists at her disposal including at least two cancer doctors, Dr Whang Hwee Yong and Prof Ian Smith, who purportedly were cheaper than Dr Lim. But it seems the patient was not looking for cheaper alternative.

The fact that the patient continued to demand Dr Lim’s care and attention as a principal doctor confirms she wanted Dr Lim’s services and agreed with Dr Lim’s fees. As the patient was known to Dr Lim for so many years, Dr Lim trusted that the patient would pay for her services which according to the newspaper were both medical and non-medical. This may explain why Dr Lim apparently did not collect any deposit or progress payment even before evacuating the patient to Brunei on a private aircraft paid by Dr Lim. To me it is the patient and family who abused the trust of the doctor.

Other doctors insist “No mark up”

A lot people are talking about over charging by Dr Susan Lim but according to Selina Lum’s report (st 1 Mar 11) five doctors have submitted affidavits stating that the bills were for their own work and are separate from Dr Susan Lim’s bills. The five doctors said that they do not understand why it was stated that Dr Susan Lim’s bills to be mark-ups.As the personal physician of the patient, Dr Susan Lim did a lot more work than the other doctors and Dr Susan Lim was required to be present as the patient would not listen to anyone else. One of the doctors even said that Dr Susan Lim was in a continual state of tension and was always at the patient’s beck and call. Dr Susan Lim had to oversee the overall area of the patient’s care. If you have never worked in the service industry, it will very difficult for you to understand the situation Dr Susan Lim was in, especially if you know the one you are providing service to was from a Royal Family.

Brunei Royal Family fail to pay Dr Susan Lim

According to Salma Khalik’s report (st 24 Feb 11), the patient agreed to Dr Susan Lim’s charges in advance. Therefore there was a business transcation between the 2 Parties. If both Parties agreed with the fees they should acknownledge the agreement. This is what you call doctor-patient relationship. Dr Susan Lim did everything for the patient because the patient trusted her. If the patient or the family felt that Dr Susan Lim was not the right person for the job they should have changed specialist anytime.