Anna Smith Column: The cost of arrogance

AT what stage of medical training, I wonder, do they teach GPs to be "arrogant and unsympathetic" when it comes to saving lives.

No doubt Dr Julie Mallon is overworked and under pressure. And perhaps that's why she dismissed eight-year-old Owen Charleston's asthma attack as a "wee stooshie" a few hours before he died in her surgery.

I'm sure she is more than contrite now. But no matter how bad she feels, it will be nothing compared with the emptiness there will always be in the lives of Owen's family.

Sadly, Owen isn't the first kid to die after being sent packing by a condescending doctor, and he won't be the last.

Copyright 2004 MGN LTD
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.