Heartbroken netizens have urged Changi General Hospital to make restitution to the parents of 39-year-old Ms Noor Azlin Abdul Rahman, the person who took CGH to the apex court for medical negligence and won, after she passed away on Sunday before receiving payment from the hospital.
Less than two months ago, the Court of Appeals found CGH guilty of negligence in a case where a delayed diagnosis caused the cancer of Ms Azlin, a terminal stage cancer patient, to spread.
Ms Azlin, lovingly known as Lyn by her family and friends, first visited CGH over an “opacity” in her lungs nearly 12 years ago. The patient subsequently visited the hospital’s Emergency department numerous times, in 2007, 2010 and 2011.
The doctors at CGH first detected a nodule in Ms Azlin’s right lung but found that the nodule was benign between 2007 and 2011. In 2010 and 2011, Ms Azlin underwent two X-rays at the hospital but she was not informed of the results of the X-rays.
Ms Azlin was then diagnosed with lung cancer after she underwent a biopsy on 16 Feb 2012. Despite radiation therapy, Ms Azlin’s Stage IV cancer progressed to her brain.
Devastated, Ms Azlin took CGH to court for medical negligence but the High Court threw out her claim against the hospital. Ms Azlin, who told the press that she cried after the ruling, persevered and appealed the court’s decision.
On 26 Feb, the Court of Appeals found CGH negligent in their care of the patient and noted that had the condition been diagnosed earlier, “we find it unlikely that the lung cancer would have progressed to Stage IIA.”
Ms Azlin’s lawyer told the press that she broke down when she heard the ruling. Ms Azlin later told reporters that she is “relieved for now, but the settlement has not been decided on.”
On why she kept fighting, Ms Azlin said: “I really had to. And I don’t want the same thing to happen to anyone else. I am sad it has happened to me, but I hope this can change the system so more lives can be saved.”
The Singaporean, who worked part-time to pay off her expensive medication bills, said then that she accepts that there is no cure for Stage IV cancer but she intends to fight it as long as she can. She said: “I love my life too much, and the people around me. I don’t want my mum to worry.”
The bold fighter, however, passed way on 31 Mar (Sunday). Ms Azlin’s cousin told ST that she had been “very sick for the past two days and became breathless on Sunday afternoon.”
In a statement on her Facebook page, Ms Azlin’s family wrote: “Rather than think of her as gone, we’d like to think that she continues to live in the hearts of many whom she has touched and inspired.”
Netizens responding to Ms Azlin’s untimely passing have urged CGH to make payment to Ms Azlin’s elderly parents. Some agreed that CGH should pay a higher sum since her early demise may have been caused by the medical negligence.
Others on social media blasted the national broadsheet for putting their article about Ms Azlin behind a paywall:
https://theindependent.sg.sg/cancer-patient-who-sued-cgh-for-medical-negligence-for-12-years-and-won-passes-away/
https://theindependent.sg.sg/complaints-against-changi-general-hospital-mounting/
https://theindependent.sg.sg/another-patient-accuses-changi-general-hospital-of-inadequate-care/
https://theindependent.sg.sg/changi-general-hospital-found-guilty-of-medical-negligence-in-stage-iv-cancer-patient/