Nature of the healthcare practitioner-patient relationship: Scenario

• A person rushes into a doctor’s surgery, covered in blood from numerous stab wounds, and asks for help. The sister on duty tells him that the practice is very busy and the doctor cannot see anymore patients. She tells the person to go quickly to the local hospital five kilometres away. The injured person says that he does not have money for the taxi fare. The sister says unfortunately she cannot help him.

–Did the sister act ethically and legally in this case. What should she have done?

–Was there a contractual relationship between the injured person and the doctor? Was there any duty on the doctor to do anything?