City dad to propose “patient’s rights”

CEBU, Philippines - After several incidents concerning "malpractices" in different hospitals in Cebu City, Councilor Gerardo Carillo is inviting medical groups and practitioners to help him draft the "patient's rights" ordinance.

"I already prepared the ordinance, kinahanglan lang gyod ni siya og consultation from a lot of people kay I'm not a doctor and kinahanglan gyod ta og input coming from the medical practice," Carillo said.

He said that medical practitioners should also help in the technical aspect of the ordinance that would protect the rights of the patients.

Carillo, chairperson of committee on social services, said that the ordinance seeks to penalize health practitioners who do not treat patients properly.

He recalled some of the incidents of "malpractice" in different hospitals in the city, like when a canister was removed from a man's rectum during an operation wherein medical staff were caught in a video making fun of the incident.

He mentioned an incident in which scissors were left inside the stomach of a patient after an operation and about a newborn baby whose mouth was allegedly sealed with a plaster.

 "There was also an incident in the past at CCMC (Cebu City Medical Center) nga ang bata natagak gyod pagpanganak. I even filed a case before the Office of the Ombudsman for that incident," he said, adding that it was resolved.

"These incidents will be the basis for initiating an action against a practitioner nga nagpabaya sa ilang gimbuhaton," he said.

Carillo said that one of the provisions stipulated in the proposed measure is that every medical operation should be recorded.

"Kanang medical transcription, meaning to say when you start the operation, everything you do must be transcribed, must be recorded. So that if there are medical practice, that can be recorded and that can be traced," he said.

"There has to be a medical transcription in the operation on the procedure laid down by any medical practitioner so that if the patient later on will contest, naa siya'y basehan. So dili na maka-deny ang medical practitioner kon unsa ang gibuhat because it was recorded," he added.

Just recently, a newborn child allegedly fell at the delivery room of the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center Hospital.

Carillo said he has sent communication requesting VSMMC to furnish him a copy of the detailed report that would be released today.

He said the hospital denied the allegations after an initial talk with the hospital representative.

He added that he has yet to talk with the parents of the baby.  (FREEMAN)