The Portuguese Medical Council, under pressure from public opinion, has suspended an obstetrician, suspected of negligence for failing to detect the malformations of a baby. His birth, without a face, upsets the country.
A baby without nose and without eyes
On October 7, Rodrigo's parents, a baby born without a nose, without eyes and missing a part of the skull, discover the malformations of their child during childbirth at the Sao Bernardo Hospital in Setubal, at a forty kilometers south of Lisbon. Still hospitalized, he is currently being followed in the pediatric ward of this same institution.
It was Dr. Artur Caravalho who had followed the pregnancy of Rodrigo's mother in a private clinic in Setubal, where he made the three mandatory ultrasounds without any problem. Alerted a first time on a possible anomaly of the fetus in the sixth month of pregnancy, during a further ultrasound performed at the initiative of parents, the obstetric reassures them. "He explained that sometimes parts of the face are not visible" during the ultrasound, says Joana Simao, the mother's sister, TV channel TVI 24.
Targeted by six other complaints
Tuesday night, the doctor was suspended for six months unanimously by the Disciplinary Council of the College of Physicians. This specialist was already targeted by six other complaints, the oldest dating back to 2013. But after this birth made the headlines, the Disciplinary Council decided to open an investigation. Justice has done the same, following a complaint filed by the parents against the doctor.
"There is strong evidence" of negligence on the part of Dr. Artur Carvalho, said the president of the council of the Order of Doctors for the southern region, Alexandre Valentim Lourenço. They may "lead to a disciplinary sanction".
Public television RTP explains that in view of the impact of this case, which "has repercussions on the reputation of doctors", and "to reassure pregnant women", this suspension was necessary. It will assess complaints, some of which "are long because they are very complex".