Man Suffers Pain After Acupuncture Treatment in S’pore, Finds Out Practitioner Left Needles in His Head & Toe

Singapore’s Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners Board (TCMPB) recently published a grounds of decision for a shocking case that took place in the country.

In the case, a complainant revealed that a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner had left acupuncture needles in his body after treatment, leaving him suffering from physical injuries.

A traditional Chinese medicine practitioner negligently left needles in a patient’s body

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According to the TCMPB, they received a complaint letter from the complainant, known as Mr A, on 9 October 2021 for the incident which took place on 19 September 2021 at a clinic in which the traditional Chinese medicine practitioner, Mr Chua Kah Gay, worked.

On 19 September 2021, Mr A had seen Mr Chua at his clinic at about 3pm, where the latter administered acupuncture on the complainant’s body and head areas.

After the acupuncture was completed and Mr Chua had removed the needles, the complainant went to the toilet. He then felt a sharp pain when he wore his slippers and discovered that there was an unremoved needle on his toe area.

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The Complainant left the Clinic at about 7pm but at around 10pm, he felt dizzy with pain and discomfort in his head area. Upon touching his head, the complainant discovered another needle was left in his head.

Mr A then rushed to the clinic only to find Mr Chua had already left. Ms S, the clinic’s massage therapist, then helped remove the needle on the complainant’s head at approximately 10.15pm.

The needle was left on the complainant’s head after the acupuncture treatment, throughout the tuina treatment, and it was only discovered by the Complainant approximately 6 hours later.

Upon removing the needle, the area where the unremoved needle had been was bleeding. As a result, the Complainant suffered from dizziness, headache, migraine and vomiting, and as of 9 October 2021, was still suffering from headache and migraine.

Furthermore, Mr Chua only gave the complainant a call on 22 September 2021 during which the complainant informed him that he was suffering from headache and dizziness and couldn’t go to work.

The board finds Mr Chua to be negligent and suspends him for 3 months

After carefully considering the evidence and documents, TCMPB found that Mr Chua had not provided good clinical care to the complainant.

The board also found that Mr Chua didn’t remove all the needles after the treatment, including 2 needles on the complainant’s toe and head areas, respectively, due to negligence.

TCMPB also found that Mr Chua didn’t record the needle count during acupuncture and upon removal of the needles.

Besides that, the board also found that:

• Mr Chua didn’t take sufficient steps to ensure that there were no other remaining needles left in the complainant
• There was no or insufficient appropriate post-treatment care by Mr Chua
• As a result of Mr Chua’s failure to remove the two needles after treatment, the complainant suffered physical injury in the form of pain, discomfort and bleeding in his toe and head areas
• Hence, Mr Chua’s conduct amounted to a breach of Section 19(1)(f) of Singapore’s Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners Act 2000 read with Regulation 2(2)(a) of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners (Practice, Conduct and Ethics) Regulations and also read with Regulation 2(2)(b) of the Regulations. Mr Chua’s conduct amounted to negligence under Section 19(1)(i) of the Act.

Accordingly, the board imposed the following measures:

• Mr Chua’s registration as a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner be suspended for 3 months
• Mr Chua be censured
• Mr Chua gives an undertaking, on such terms as the Board thinks fit, to abstain from the conduct that is the subject of the complaint against him
• Mr Chua shall pay the costs and expenses of or incidental to the inquiry against him

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So, what do you guys think of this shocking case? Share your thoughts with us in the comments!

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