Even among doctors there are foxes in sheep skin. There is a fear that even doctors who mean well for their patients can ‘lose it’ when a beautiful woman steps into their examination rooms
A video clip aired on Citizen TV in which a ‘doctor’ was caught pants down allegedly having his way with a sedated patient sent shock waves through the country.
“To any doctor claiming (this case) is an attack on the credibility of doctors, shame on you! Protecting patients should be a priority,” celebrated media personality Julie Gichuru tweeted.
Kenyans on Twitter did not spare Mugo wa Wairimu, the man allegedly captured in the video.
Some in the medical profession took offence; expressing their displeasure with accusatory anecdotes like ‘quack doctor’ or ‘doctor rapes patients’, arguing that one is either a quack or a doctor - not both.
But in the pandemonium that ensued, not many addressed the most important bit that should have formed the heart of the conversation: What is the solution to quacks (or even doctors gone rogue) waiting for our women at their most vulnerable moment?
“I am not letting my wife visit another doctor without me being there,” a friend stated, visibly shaken by what he considered gross display of perversion.
“This is how a man ends up raising a child who is not biologically his. What happens then when a couple discovers an STI and each believes that they have been faithful?”
But maybe he is right that husbands should accompany their wives to the doctor’s for check-ups.
Through instinct Hellen Achieng, a colleague, thinks that doctors – who mean well for their patients – can ‘lose it’ when a beautiful woman walks into their office.
“At any given moment when a doctor is conducting diagnosis on a patient, it is important that there is a third party – maybe a nurse – within the room.
A patient also has the right to ask that a trusted relative be present while a doctor conducts an examination,” offers Dr John Wachira, a urologist with Amref Kenya.
The doctor adds: “A husband is a trusted relative for a married woman. It wouldn’t be out of place for him to be present as his wife is seen by a doctor. And while some examinations may need anesthesia, it would require that an anesthesiologist be present. Such procedures cannot be done in a personal clinic but rather within a hospital setting.”
Dr Wachira believes that rape cases should be handled as criminal since the people involved are not doctors because what they do should not be linked to the medical profession.
But even so, he says, “It wouldn’t be bad for someone to accompany their kin to be examined by a medic.