Doctor: I Can Synthesize Infinite Entries

Chapter 93: Chapter 93: The Unsigned Surgery Controversy

That evening, Wu Ting was resting in the break room.

Since becoming a team leader, the frontline work had been taken on by Yasui and Cheng Feng. Wu Ting was mostly on the second line, only heading out when he was needed.

Yasui and Cheng Feng, those two kings of the grind, were also secretly competing with each other.

As Wu Ting was in the break room, there was a sudden knock on the door.

"Come in."

Cheng Feng pushed the door open, panting.

"Brother Ting, something’s happened outside. Let’s go see if we can help!"

Cheng Feng was a little nervous; he had clearly never encountered a situation like this before.

"What’s going on?"

Wu Ting also had a bad feeling and immediately followed Cheng Feng out.

He saw a few people gathered in the emergency department lobby, arguing loudly.

Ding Yue, the gynecology resident on duty, had red-rimmed eyes and was being backed against a wall by a large man.

Xiao Xixi stood protectively in front of Ding Yue, like a mother lioness.

"Please control yourself! Dr. Ding was worried about your wife. The situation was critical, and we couldn’t reach you by phone. If we hadn’t performed the emergency surgery, it’s very likely that both mother and child would have been lost!"

Xiao Xixi tried to reason with the family member.

However, the man wouldn’t listen at all, shouting,

"Bullshit! You heartless doctors are just bullying us country folk because we don’t understand medicine."

"What’s so dangerous about childbirth? We were planning on a natural birth, so what gives you the right to operate on her? Huh?! It would have only cost a few thousand yuan, but now this C-section is going to cost over ten thousand! Huh? What is this if not you trying to rip us off?"

"But the situation was critical. She was already 39 weeks pregnant. When you brought her in, her water had already broken, and there wasn’t much amniotic fluid left. On top of that, the baby was in a breech position. If we hadn’t performed the C-section, it was very likely the baby wouldn’t have made it!"

"I was just thinking of the safety of the mother and child."

Ding Yue explained loudly, her eyes red.

"Bullshit! Not much amniotic fluid? That means there was still some, right? The baby’s position was wrong? Couldn’t you have just manually repositioned it? You’re City First Hospital, a top-tier hospital of this size, how could you not even handle that?"

"If I’d known this would happen, we would have gone a bit farther to the Women’s and Children’s Hospital. You call yourself a doctor? Do you have any professional ethics at all?"

The family member took out his phone, looked something up, and said indignantly,

"You’re a gynecologist. Don’t you know that for a naturally delivered child, the stimulation from the mother’s uterine contractions promotes the baby’s brain cell development and is good for the newborn’s neuromotor balance? Plus, the pressure from the birth canal on the baby’s abdomen helps the baby’s lungs function for normal breathing. It also helps the baby establish a normal gut microbiome, which builds their immunity."

"Besides, a natural birth causes the least harm to the mother. The trauma is minimal, there’s less bleeding, and postpartum recovery is faster."

"My wife isn’t some delicate city girl. She has to get back to work after giving birth."

"You operated on her without the family’s consent. Don’t you see the trouble you’ve caused? Now she’s stuck in bed and needs someone to take care of her. How much more wasted money is that going to cost us?"

"I see what this is! You’re just trying to scare us, forcing us to get the surgery so you can overcharge us. You’re completely heartless!"

The family member, having looked up the benefits of natural birth on his phone, continued to rail against Ding Yue.

"I... I didn’t! It was because no family members were present and you were unreachable! To save her life, I decided to perform the surgery."

Ding Yue was trembling with anger, her voice hoarse.

Just then, the few people with the family member also started shouting, drawing a crowd of onlookers who didn’t know what was going on.

"The hospital is overcharging! They’re bullying ordinary people, scaring us into getting surgery we don’t need!"

Listening to the family’s clamor, Ding Yue’s face turned pale.

Xiao Xixi also felt a headache coming on. Although Ding Yue’s intentions were to save the lives of the mother and child, operating without the family’s consent was indeed a violation of regulations.

If the patient’s family took this to the Health Bureau or to court, Ding Yue wouldn’t be able to defend herself.

While it was true that emergency departments had special provisions—both Article 33 of the "Regulations on the Administration of Medical Institutions" and Article 10 of the "Basic Norms for Writing Medical Records" stated that in the absence of a relative’s signature, the head of the medical institution or an authorized representative could sign instead. However, in such situations, the medical institution is required to preserve objective evidence to avoid medical disputes.

But Ding Yue was still young. Seeing how critical the situation was, she had operated on the patient, risking liability for medical malpractice. She hadn’t even thought about preserving any relevant evidence. Besides, with the delivery now complete, it was hard to reconstruct the original circumstances. It was impossible to prove that the mother and baby’s lives would have been in danger without the surgery.

As Wu Ting observed the situation, he suddenly spotted a familiar bald head—it belonged to one of the men from the father-son staged accident scam from before.

The bald man’s father hadn’t been discharged yet, and he was out picking up takeout. He started walking over, clearly acquainted with the angry family member. But just as he was about to say something, he noticed Wu Ting’s gaze, and he immediately walked away in embarrassment.

He guiltily headed for the elevator to go to the hospital room, terrified that Wu Ting might have figured something out.

While Wu Ting was deep in thought, a woman dressed in professional attire, holding a camera, suddenly appeared. It was unclear when she had arrived.

"I’m Feng Yuefang, a reporter from Fan City TV Station."

"Dr. Ding, I’m here to film an interview based on a citizen’s report. Is it true that you forced a patient into surgery? That you insisted on performing a C-section on a woman who was having a natural birth, all to make money, with no regard for the patient’s family situation?"

Feng Yuefang filmed as she spoke, having already recorded footage of the family member’s outburst before she even started her interview.

"Reporter Feng, it’s great that you’re here! You reporters hate evil and stand up for justice. You have to help us common folk. City First Hospital is a big establishment that bullies its customers! They’re taking advantage of us because we don’t know any better."

The family member excitedly rushed over and began pouring out his grievances to the camera.

Seeing that a reporter had shown up, the crowd gathered even closer. Feng Yuefang spoke with righteous conviction, posturing as an avatar of justice, all while skillfully using her words to stir up conflict between the doctor and the patient’s family.

Instantly, the atmosphere became charged. Some of the uninformed onlookers even started to chime in, expressing their outrage on the family’s behalf.

"Dr. Ding, are you aware that Article 40, ’Rules for Performing Surgery,’ of the ’Hospital Work System’ issued by the Health Bureau explicitly states that before any surgery is performed, a family member or the patient’s work unit must sign a consent form?"

"Article 33 of the ’Regulations on the Administration of Medical Institutions’ also stipulates that when a medical institution performs surgery, special examinations, or special treatments, it must obtain the consent and signature of the patient’s family members or legal guardian."

Feng Yuefang was clearly skilled in her use of language, putting immense pressure on Ding Yue.

"But at the time..."

"Dr. Ding, don’t give me irrelevant answers. I’m asking you if you are aware of these two regulations!"

Ding Yue bit her lip and nodded, her eyes bright red.

Feng Yuefang zoomed in for a close-up, capturing the moment Ding Yue admitted it.

Then she turned the camera to the family member.

"To the patient’s family, did you disagree with the surgery? And did you not sign a consent form?"

The family member nodded.

Feng Yuefang then panned the camera over the crowd.

"Everyone heard that! Dr. Ding knew she needed the family’s signed consent before the surgery, but she didn’t wait for them to arrive. Instead, she used the excuse that the patient’s life might be in danger to force a mother into surgery, all just to earn a bigger surgical fee. Is that not malpractice?"

Some people in the crowd, incited by her words, began to curse loudly.

A look of triumph on her face, Feng Yuefang panned her camera around, capturing all of this footage.

Ding Yue still wanted to explain, but Feng Yuefang gave her no opportunity to speak.

If this footage really made it onto the TV news, Ding Yue would truly be finished.

Dejectedly, Ding Yue sank to the floor, leaned against the base of the wall, and began to cry. She was, after all, just a young doctor, not yet thirty, who had never experienced anything like this.

Xiao Xixi wanted to defend her, but Ding Yue’s actions had indeed been improper.

Wu Ting watched calmly, a few ideas beginning to form.

He took a photo of Feng Yuefang and sent it to Reporter Zhu Zhu.

"Miss Zhu, I need to confirm something with you. Is this person a reporter from your station? And does Director Cai have the authority to review and approve whether her news report can be published?"