Is there a duty on healthcare practitioners to treat? Scenario 2

• A 17 year old rape survivor presents at a private doctor’s rooms. She tells the receptionist that she was raped 24 hours ago, but had to make her way into town from the countryside to find a doctor. The man who raped her did not wear a condom. The receptionist tells the girl that the doctor does not treat rape survivors because he does not want to go to court to give evidence. She tells the girl to go and report it to the nearby police station, as they will help to find a doctor for her.

–Do you think that the doctor had a duty to treat her? Why or why not?

–Do you think that the receptionist should have spoken to the doctor first, before turning the girl away? Why or why not?