Counselling Ethics

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Running Head: Counselling Ethics
COUNSELLING ETHICS

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Counselling Ethics
The medical profession is writ with ethical and moral concerns where an individual is met with a
situation that needs serious decision-making skills. The decision thus made also needs to be in
accordance with the ethics and principles of humanity and be in the best interest of most of the
involved parties. In this study, the case of Dr Susan Lim will be dealt with to understand the
moral dilemma she and the stakeholders were facing. This study assumes the newspaper reports
and other sources of information for the case to be true and authentic. The case would be
analysed using the relevant literature and models available.
Dr Susan Lim is one of the most reputed female surgeons in Singapore and is most popular
among high-class clients. She is known for being the first successful liver transplant to be done
in Singapore in the year 1990. She had also started a biotechnology company of her own in 2003
under the name Stem Cell Technologies and became a Fellow of Trinity College.
The following case is in context to the allegation put on her for inflating the costs of treatment
and counselling when treating the sister of Queen of Brunei for cancer (Asiaone, 2015). In 2011,
the Singapore Medical Council put forward her case to the Ministry of Health for charging a
whopping amount of $24 millionSGD. She was proved to be guilty and was suspended from
practising for about 3 years.
Dr Susan Lim treated Pengiran Anak Hajah Damit for cancer in the left breast from 2001 tile she
died in August 2007. From the document presented to the court from the year 2004 to 2007 was
about $40 million. The details of the earlier three years are still not clear. The bill was cleared by
the Bruneians promptly. She again presented another bill of the remaining amount for the
treatment provided from Jan 15 to June 16, 2007, which was about $26 million (Asiaone, 2015).
Dr Lim was also accused of charging extra fees for an appointed that made her cancel any of her
previous plans like conferences and meetings. However, she provided no further report about the
charges concurred in those conferences or meetings (The Independent, 2016). Also, when other
doctors and specialists were called to the cause of reviewing the Queen’s sister's health, she
inflated their charges before sending the invoice to the kingdom.
The case may appear to be a proceeding between the care provider and the care seeker but the
stakeholders of there are many stakeholders present. It is essential to take into consideration the
views of all the stakeholders before arriving at a decision. The first stakeholder is Dr Susan Lim
herself. She proposes that the charges were used to bear the costs of providing the best possible
treatment to a high-profile patient. The Brunei government and the Brunei royal family are other

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Counselling Ethics
stakeholders who believe that Dr Susan Lim charged them more than what she charged normally.
The Singapore Medical Council looked into the matter and criticised the unprofessional
behaviour on part of Dr Susan Lim. They have to take into consideration the claims of the
general outcry of other patients who also believe that doctors often overcharge their service.
Counselling ethics unifies all the earlier existing codes and conducts of practice with ethics and
morality. Counselling ethics cover three main areas of values, principles and personal moral
qualities. However, it is necessary to note that the ethics of counselling do not mean to
undermine or invalidate other approaches to providing humane care and treatment to people.
They also include other principles of autonomy, justice, beneficence and non-maleficence.
Autonomy maintains that the patient or the client is allowed to maintain their autonomy and are
also allowed to practice their will. This gives them the decision to reject a treatment even if it
threatens their wellbeing. The principle of justice aims to distribute the ideas, benefits and access
to health and wellbeing to all people equally. Beneficence requires that medical professionals are
guided by a wish to do good for others. Non-maleficence requires that medical treatment does
not harm the patient in any way. The above three principles were formed to guide medical
professional to make the right decision and provide the best quality of service to their patients or
clients.
Moral Dilemma Dr Lim may face
A moral dilemma is a situation where a person is not able to make a decision as the pros and
cons of the situations are posed one against the other. Moral dilemmas in the medical profession
are more difficult as the life of an individual depends on it (Walker, Lovat, BTH & THM, 2016).
In the case of Dr Lim where she was accused of inflating the changes, it is important to note that
there is no direct link between the profits made by a medical professional and the health care
service they provide. This means that it is not necessary that a person charging a higher price will
be able to provide quick restitution. Furthermore, it is also difficult to set the price in case of
services as they are much different from costing technique of products. However, a reasonable
consideration needs to be maintained which will ensure that there is some connection between
the pricing of the services and the services offered (Heimbach, 2017).
Another ethical dilemma is that Dr Lim when intimidated by the ongoing case also tried to
threaten to disclose sensitive information about the client and the royal family. This is a direct
breach of the ethics and laws which try to protect the privacy and information of the patients.