Minglanilla district hospital: Capitol starts inquiry into kids’ deaths

CEBU, Philippines -  “I am not surprised of that because it’s been a notorious zero-budget hospital. It’s really unfortunate because patients will bear the consequence,” CMS president Dr. Danny Yu said.

Yu was dismayed over the unfortunate deaths of patients at MDH.

He recalled that at the time of his internship, they were forced to prescribe some medicines for patients because the hospital had no supplies.

He said there were insufficient supplies of medicines, intravenous needles and materials and equipment for resuscitation.

“We prescribed medicines and we had no choice then and so the patients. So, they had to procure medicines outside,” he shared. “There were really deficiencies and lack of equipment and supply,” he added.

The Commission on Human Rights-7 has called on the PMA to initiate an immediate investigation on the alleged negligence of MDH, resulting to the death of at least three children.

CHR-7 Special Investigator III Leo Reyes Villarino said PMA has the “capacity, competence and jurisdiction” over these malpractice issues.

Yu said though CMS does not have jurisdiction over medico-legal cases.

“We don’t initiate in our own. We are not allowed,” he said.

Nevertheless, if they are asked by the court or any authorities to look into the medical and ethical aspects and circumstances of the alleged crime, CMS’ ethics committee may do so, Yu said.

If hospital personnel are found breaching medical and ethical standards or committed gross negligence in medical practice, CMS will endorse the matter to PMA central office for appropriate action.

Death inquiry

The Provincial Health Office has started making an inquiry into the two other  deaths at MDH allegedly because of poor treatment by hospital personnel.

PHO head Cynthia Genosolango said she has directed the management of the district hospital to pull out the medical records covering the dates when the two cases reportedly transpired, the one being in July and the other in October this year.

She said she would also invite all the involved medical staff in Minglanilla to a fact-finding proceeding.

“We will do the same process of evaluation (to that of the recent case involving a one-year old child). We will evaluate the series of events, and the medical staff on duty that time,” she told reporters during a regular meeting of the chief of hospitals at a hotel in Cebu City yesterday.

Dr. Clinia Seguerra, chief of hospital of MDH, was supposedly among the attendees but had not yet arrived as of 1 p.m. yesterday.

Genosolango said she has directed the chief of hospital and any staff of MDH not to give statement regarding the issues “to prevent giving wrong information.”

“Budget not an issue”

The two cases which surfaced following the death of a one-year old child involved two four-year old children.

The first happened in July 13 this year. Honey Alipar of Deca Homes, Barangay Tungkil, Minglanilla told The FREEMAN that the hospital’s personnel reportedly did not immediately attend to her child Jamaica. She said she was ignored because the medicines were not yet available.

The same nature of incident also happened in October 7.

Genosolango though admitted that unavailability of medicines could not be avoided even in private hospitals. But she noted that province-run hospitals were already directed to make replenishments immediately if they run out of medicines.

She added that the budget for medicines in the province-run hospitals has never been an issue considering that health sector is the top priority of the current administration.

Based on the records from the Provincial Budget Office, MDH’s allocation for drugs and medicines has significantly increased from P403,925 in 2013 to P1 million in 2014.  — Kristine B. Quintas and Michael Vencynth H. Braga/NSA (FREEMAN)