Dr. Malaria's License must be Revoked

Subject:

Medical Malpractice: Dr. Malaria

Thanks for the effort to inform the public about malpractice of doctors in the Phils. What happened to me seems trivial as compared to what was done or not done to others.

I went to the medicare center in our town here in Palawan because of high fever and intolerable headache. The doctor on duty asked me questions:

"Dr: Anong nararamdaman mo?
Me: Mataas po ang lagnat ko, tsaka masakit po ang ulo ko.

Dr.: Masakit ba ang sikmura mo?
Me: Hindi po.

Dr.: Mapula ba ang ihi mo?
Me: Opo.

Dr: Nahihilo ka ba?
Me: Opo.

Dr.: Ay, malarya yan!"

He then called the nurse who gave him a pen and a sheet of paper. He proceeded to write a "shopping list" of meds, etc. Then he left, leaving the paper to the nurse. I asked the nurse to show me the paper. There was no name of the patient (me), no date, no signature of the doctor. Only names of medicines. No other info like number or pieces of each. The nurse then told my "bantay, neng sunod ka na kay doc, baka magsara na ang botika nila!" I said, "paano ang bayad?" Nurse: "saka na lang po." When my "bantay" returned, she has a bag of what she got from the botika. It was pretty obvious that the doctor's wife in the botika knew the pack to prepare. All for malaria.

So that first night, I was given anti-malarial drugs like 'fancedar' and 'chloroquine'. Same until the 2nd day. Later in the afternoon, I complained because my condition did not improve a bit. Take note, there was no blood smear or urine test at least. I asked the nurse why so. The lab tech was on leave. I showed signs of irritation to the nurse. That was only the time when someone took my blood and urine samples.

No one told me the results until I asked the nurse again.

Me: "Anong result ng test? may malaria ba ako?"
Nurse: Negative "po".

Me: "O, e bakit pinapainum nyo ako ng para sa malaria?
Nurse: "Yon po kasi order ni doc."

I told her that I want to change my doctor... and I did after much "kulitan".

The new doctor confirmed my suspicion. "Wala akong malaria. UTI ang meron." He gave me antibiotics and in less than 4 hours, I was relieved of fever. Imagine, for 2 days they administered 'chloroquine' to me? All the while I have UTI "pala..."

Not only this. There was this patient in the same hospital who has fever when she arrived. "May lagnat ka? Malarya yan. Yon pala, ang dalagita, nadulas dahil maputik ang daan sa kanila." Two more cases were judged with malaria.

This doctor is known here pala as DR MALARIA. "Kasi laging malaria ang sakit na nakikita sa patients nya. At sa store lang nila bibili ng gamot ha! "

thanks for your time.. .

Unfortunately, the contributor has requested anonymity. However, any reaction can be posted in the blogspot or passed on to:

victims.medmalpractic@gmail.com

Another Misdiagnosis which Led to Death?

From: joyce marie c. alvarez
jm_joycec@yahoo.com

Subject: Another Misdiagnosis which Led to Death?

On April 27, 2005, my mother complained that she was not feeling well and vomited. We brought her to Capitol Medical early morning. The doctors at the emergency room asked her medical history. We told them she had ischemia. The doctors gave her medicine for dizziness only and just let her lie down on the emergency bed. My husband and I were there the whole time. After a few hours, around 11 am, my mother said she was fine, (though she still looked weak), and wanted to go home. I asked the doctor if she could go home and they allowed us to go home with a diagnosis of vertigo, and just reminded us to see her doctor after a few days for follow- up.

But after a few days, my mother died.

I woke her up that Friday morning, April 29 but she didn’t wake up anymore. We were all so surprised with her sudden death because she never complained of anything except that time we brought her to Capitol which they said was just vertigo. We brought her back to Capitol that Friday morning (since it was the nearest hospital), and I saw the resident who gave that diagnosis, and you know what I told her: " You said that my mother was fine and now she's dead". In her death certificate, they wrote as cause of death: myocardial infraction. I was not able to get the resident's name but I would still remember her face. I also remembered after her death, her blood pressure was not checked before we left the hospital. Maybe, if they checked her BP or did some other tests or observed her more, maybe they could have detected something else and not just vertigo. After giving her medicine for dizziness, they just left us and did not do anything anymore.

I am not a doctor but I believe that there may have been a misdiagnosis or they didn’t care much to the patient (who was my mother) because she was just complaining of dizziness and vomiting water and they had other things to do. Its been three years but I guess your email gave me an opportunity to let you or others know especially the doctors to take time when looking into their patients and be responsible.

To the doctors, we seek for your advice because we believe in your expertise. Do not let your patients lose faith in you or the hospital where you are serving because you also carry the hospital's name whenever you treat a patient.

Joyce

A Biopsy that Led to Death

From: "Cubacub, Maria Irma C" Maria.Cubacub@phs.com

This is so sad.

I can relate with your family because we had same experience when my father in law was admitted just for liver biopsy on a week-end and he died the next day unexpectedly. My father in law was ambulatory and strong when he was admitted. He survived the open heart surgery in the same hospital 8yrs ago but did not survive the simple liver biopsy.

The hospital is responsible in making sure all healthcare personnel are competent and should not make excuses and justification to these incidences. It's one of the best hospitals, people seeking health services at SLMC should be safe. I understand that some patient who are admitted very sick dies but these victims are sick(healthy) individuals and are just victims of circumstances, it could have been prevented & patient should survive given the best attention and care. They should treat everyone who come through their door cautiously and anticipate the worse that could happen before we lose our loved ones.

My sympathy goes with the family, may you have strong faith with the Lord. God bless you all.

Irma C.

Relleta's Complaint Letter to St. Luke's

Hello again!

Below is my friend's story. It's actually the letter of complaint she submitted to St. Luke's after the incident.

Kristina T. Subido protransph@yahoo.com

LETTER OF COMPLAINT TO ST. LUKE'S
SENT BY JOSEFINA DELA CRUZ RELLETA

Good day.

I would like to bring to your attention my complaint regarding the medication and diagnosis that was given to me by doctor Raymond Vincent Jurilla.

I went to his clinic to complain about my ear, which seemed to be clogged. I also gave him a brief history of what happened. I told him, almost 2 weeks before I came to see him, I was traveling uphill on a zigzag road and I felt so dizzy that time. I also felt sensation of some pressure in my ears, somewhat same as descending and ascending in an airplane. I never experienced being that dizzy before. Thinking that something maybe wrong with my cochlea, because I could not keep my balance, I decided to see an ear specialist last October 2. Doctor Jurilla was the ear specialist on duty that day. He requested that I should go for 3 tests: pure Tone Audiometry, Speech Audiometry (Oct 5)and VNG (Oct 8). I had all those tests there at St. Luke’s.

I went for my Audiometric Examination, the result of the examination was Mild Sensorineural hearing Loss; while the conclusion for my VNG was suggestive of positional vertigo.

On Ocotber 11, Dr Jurilla said, I have Meniere's Disease and Positional Vertigo, and prescribed the following: LASIX, duxaril and vit b-12. I took all the above that same day; but I took Lasix around early evening, since i wanted to sleep early that night. He said I should take it at bedtime. That’s all he said. After 2 hours of taking Lazix, I felt some dizziness and discomfort. I went to the bathroom to urinate and pass stool, but immediately after going to toilet , I felt so weak, I was sweating cold, and my world seemed to turn around, my body was cold, I was fainting. My son carried me, as I could not walk anymore. He made me sit down to relax, but I knew something really bad was happening to me after taking Lazix. My son took my BP and found that it had tremendously gone down to 70 and I had a hard time breathing. After 2 hours, I had another attack. This made me decide go to a hospital.

At the emergency room, the attendant and nurse took my ECG..there was T-wave, she said. I had Urinalisys, random blood sugar test, CBC tests. I requested to be allowed home the following day so I can better rest in my house.

After 4 days, I went to see an Internist doctor, who requested that I should see another Ear doctor and a Cardiospecialist on that same day and I did. This time, the Ear specialist was able to give a better diagnosis of my problem. She did endoscopy on my nose, looked at my ears, throat and found the reason. It was my sinus being clogged which affected my ears and was triggered when I was going uphill that time. AS SIMPLE AS THAT! And not Meniere's disease, as Dr Jurilla was saying. She prescribed medication and I am thankful that my ears feel better, though my body still has to recover.

Dr Jurilla, did not even ask me about my Blood Pressure, neither took time to get my BP before prescribing Lasix. I found out later that this will cause BP to fall. My normal BP is 100/70.

When I took Lazix, I had hypotension, and my sugar went to 165, I had hyperglycemia, and had difficulty of breathing. In other words, my condition worsened.

I have no intention to file case against the doctor. I just want to bring this to your attention and properly address the issue and concern.

People in the medical profession should try to be more dedicated in treating their patients. They are dealing with lives and not commodities. I hope we can do away with too much commercialism and politics in this field, rather more dedication and sincerity to serve.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Josefina dela Cruz Relleta

Horror Story at the Geriatic Floor: St. Luke's Medical Center

From: Marlene Chance chancesr@bellsouth.net

I am so sorry to hear about your loss.

My mother was only one of the many victims of the negligence, incompetence, and malpractice of St. Luke's Hospital, many of it's doctors, and every single nurse who was assigned to my mother, no exception! As a graduate of nursing from the University of the Philippines, I had the great misfortune of witnessing first hand, the incredible lack of compassion, basic nursing care and professionalism that nursing stands for, as well as the serious lack of basic intelligence from all the hospital's nurses that the St. Lukes employs and tolerates.

The nursing duties and functions that were so simple and basic, and that should have all been mastered while in nursing school prior to graduation and licensure, all turned into major disasters and complications that could have ALL been prevented. These are only a few of the negligent and incompetent acts: (1) bed sores on my mother's buttocks on the third day of admission, not having been turned, moved or changed, (she was actually stuck to the soiled linen from old urine and feces) until I arrived from the United States to change her myself...there was absolutely no reason for decubitus ulcers on a third day, or any day for that matter, if basic nursing care is carried out. She was in a private room on the Geriatric floor where nobody changed patient's beddings for weeks at a time, or until forced to by the family of the patient.

(2) fecal impaction which resulted in acute rectal bleeding and anemia, and subsequent and multiple blood transfusions, plus a stat colonoscopy that required anesthesia of course, in an already compromised patient. I begged for the attending (Sotomayor) to check her bowels DAILY, because she had not had a bowel movement in several days, and only on the 10th day, did I finally get an order in the chart for an INTERN (another incompetent future doctor at the time) to disimpact my mother, which resulted in bleeding and hemorrhage.

(3) misuse of the appropriate antibiotics, having had a urine culture done, the attending ordered Amoxil which was not sensitive to the bacteria in her urine, and a few days later, she became septic and gradually deteriorated from untreated Urinary Tract Infection. This is a disease that we treat in the outpatient settings in the United States, it is basic, easy to treat, if standard care and protocols are followed.

(4) As a Diabetic, drawing blood out of the lower extremity is an absolute CONTRAINDICATION, but the phlebotomists continued to take blood out of her feet when nobody was looking, or intentionally at dawn, when my mother's attendant was sleeping, and before I arrived for a visit. I posted signs all over the wall and bed, and informed the nurses and laboratory supervisors never to allow blood drawing from any other part of her body aside from her arm, but nobody heeded my instructions. My mother died of a Massive Pulmonary Embolus after 45 days of admission at St. Lukes. This clot was a direct result of drawing blood from her lower extremities, simply because the medical technologists were too incompetent and too lazy to find any other vein elsewhere.

(5) Physical Therapist burned my mother's left arm and shoulder while applying the ultrasonic heat, and not bothering to test before using on a patient. I found the burns myself, they were never reported. My mother sustained first and second degree burns that again, were dismissed as "normal and usual effects of being a patient at St. Lukes." That is not tolerated in the United States, would have required an incident report, which was never completed, and would have easily been grounds for negligent action and malpractice.

(6) Tube Feedings. Not a single RN on the floor had the basic knowledge or skill as to the proper use and feeding process of my mother's PEG tube. They practically shoved the container of food as fast as they could, causing abdominal discomfort, unless I stood next to her bed to watch and supervise. Nobody on the floor even knew how to use the feeding tube machine on that Geriatric Floor. We had the supervisor, head nurse and director of nursing in my mother's room trying to figure out how to use this very simple machine that they should have been trained to use properly. Needless to say, because of the delay in feedings, my mother's nutritional status was compromised even more, resulting also in occlusion of her PEG tube, which of course required a replacement. The skills or lack of, in these nurses were pathetic, and unacceptable.

(7) This was rather interesting. At 9 o'clock every morning, a clerk from the business office would knock at my mother's door to hand me the hospital bill, and ask how much I was paying that particular day! It did not matter how much of the expense these incompetent employees were costing me for their negligent actions, all that mattered is that I made a deposit towards the multi-million peso bill that multiplied every hour! And if I did not go down to make a payment, they would call to remind me until I did. At the ER, the hospital refused to treat my mother until my sister made a P10,000 deposit in the middle of the night, when the banks are closed! And on discharge, after Dr. Abraham-Lim's professional discount (the only decent doctor my mother had), we paid a 2 Million Peso hospital bill that did not include the pharmacy and mutiple professional fees.

I can go on and on with the numerous disasters, these are only a few that stick out in my mind and that I will never forget!

There were clearly several instances where St. Lukes failed to meet the standard of care which directly caused injury and subsequent death to my mother. I made every effort to litigate, but unfortunately, there were no malpractice attorneys available in the country, and nobody was willing to take the case in the Philippines. I tried to publish the detailed scenario of the many terrible mistakes committed that eventually led to my mother's death, but the lawyers of this big corporate institution paid Manila Times and other newspaper publications not to publish my article. I wrote to the Secretary of Health, but got no response. I wrote and sent letters by certified mail, to the President and CEO of St. Lukes and to the Director of Nursing and the Nursing Department, and again, did not get any response.

As a Filipina myself, I must say it is rather unfortunate that Filipinos and others who reside in the Philippines, have to fall victim to the poor and negligent, but very, very expensive medical care at St. Luke's Hospital every day. There must be a way to put a stop to this negligent care!

Best of luck with your case!

Marlene Cataylo Chance, ARNP, MSN, PhD, EJD
Board Certified Family Nurse Practitioner
Primary Care Physicians of Pembroke Pines
2488 University Drive
Pembroke Pines, Florida 33324
954-983-9191

The Story of Jessie Bass

25 December 1953 – 17 November 2007

Mid morning of 16 November 2007, complaining of stomach pains, Jesus (Jessie) V. Bass (53) walked into the St. Luke’s Medical Center so he can get the best possible health care.

Jessie was attended to and examined by Dr. Edgardo M. Bondoc who eventually diagnosed him for acute appendicitis. Nonetheless, Dr. Bondoc did not refer Jessie, nor called the attention of any surgeon. In fact, Dr. Bondoc advised Jessie to go home and be an out-patient to await the results of the clinical tests.

Jessie, however, worried about his condition, opted to be confined at the world-class medical center convinced he would be given the necessary attention. He was alone then, as his entire immediate family lived in the United States. Upon confinement, Dr. Bondoc ordered an emergency contrasting CT Scan to rule out “possible gastro intestinal infectious diseases”. Jessie, however, waited until 7 pm before he was wheeled in for scanning. This was postponed due to alleged chills, fever and elevated blood pressure.

Finally, at 11:55 pm, Jessie’s scan proceeded.

Ten minutes after injecting Jessie with a test dose of the contrast dye, Optiray, a team composed of radiology technicians and 1st year Radiology resident, Dr. Gilbert N. Sy, administered the full dosage. The CT Scan followed.

Jessie was pronounced dead at 1:20 am, November 17, 2007, on the 64-slice CT Scan table - one of the most modern equipment of this world-class medical center. The National Bureau of Investigation’s official autopsy confirmed Jessie had an inflamed appendicitis.

In a fact finding meeting on 14 December 2007, Dr. Joven R. Cuanang, Senior Vice President for Medical Affairs, confirmed that the Medical Center did not have the ideal staffing at the CT Scan Unit at such unholy hour, with the most senior personnel being only a 2nd year Radiology Resident, Dr. Miguel B. Zamora.

It was noted that St. Luke’s Medical Center and the inexperienced junior team did not follow the important precautions that the OPTIRAY manufacturer indicated for its use :

personnel competent in recognizing and treating adverse reactions of all types should always be available; and

the possibility of a reaction, including serious, life-threatening, fatal, anaphylactoid or cardiovascular reactions, should always be considered.

It was further noted that the CT Scan plates recorded a time fixed at 00:03:42 while the Radiology Unit’s incident report indicated that Jessie was given the full bolus dose at 12:15 am, and got through with the procedure 10 to 15 seconds after. How soon after the “Code Red” team responded to give him the anti-dote was never accurately determined.

The presence of such inexperienced junior staff, Dr. Sy, only a 1st year Radiology resident, with two radiology technicians, was one main reason for the wrong diagnosis of what was happening to Jessie when he was wheeled out of the CT Scan gantry gasping for air.

Not recognizing the severity of the allergic reaction to the contrast material, the technicians even tried to question the patient before calling in a resident.

Dr. Sy admitted on 19 November 2007 that he turned Jessie on his side, thinking Jessie was trying to vomit. On subsequent formal meetings, however, Dr. Sy denied his initial admission.

There was, therefore, a critical gap caused by the lack of a full experienced team, and the diagnosis of an inexperienced staff that resulted in the loss of precious time to inject the needed anti-dote, and to immediately resuscitate him to effect a reversal of the adverse reaction.

Despite their subsequent claims of following protocol, or maybe because of its strict observance by young inexperienced staff, it was too late when “Code Red” was called and the first dose of anti-dote given.

Jessie, whose death on the table of one of the most modern CT Scan equipment available for medical practitioners in the Philippines, should be the first and the last to be sacrificed for the sake of many more seeking similar medical assistance, especially at the famed world class, and Joint Commission International accredited St. Luke’s Medical Center.

Unfortunately, despite the above factual incidents, the St. Luke’s Medical Center claims that it did its best and has denied any responsibility whatsoever on Jessie’s death.

See Korina Sanchez on Jessie Bass –

http://youtube.com/watch?v=mYcpx_bUBHk


NOTE: Please share and email Jessie.vbass@yahoo.com “ if you, your relatives or friends have a similar experience with St. Luke’s Medical Center, its doctors and staff, or with other hospitals and medical practitioners in the Philippines.

Jessie Bass: Medical Risks vs. Rewards

Many have responded to “The Story of Jessie Bass”. One was a blind email from Mr. Rene Rava of Quezon City who said: “Jessie's death is a senseless one. These things could have been avoided.” Jessie’s family also thought it could have been avoided. They demanded an assurance from St. Luke’s that his death be the first and the last on the gantry of their modern 64 Slice CT Scan equipment. St. Luke’s, however, continued to claim no responsibility on the death of Jessie Bass. They said “Severe reactions requiring aggressive treatment…is only 0.04%... Fatal reactions are exceedingly rare…” The impression was that Jessie Bass, unfortunately, was on the wrong side of the statistics.

It was risks versus rewards for Jessie who was the most senior Filipino officer at Marubeni, Philippines. As a businessman, he too learned that “higher risks: higher returns”. When he came into the hospital complaining of stomach pains, he really just wanted to be relieved of his pains. But I suppose, he had no choice but to literally hand over his life entirely to his attending physician, Dr. Edgardo M. Bondoc, or to St. Luke’s Medical Center, with its cadre of experts, for that matter. After all, it was their accepted responsibility to know, to cure and to save lives. They have the training, the experience and the most modern medical equipment to exactly pinpoint and diagnose one’s condition. While Jessie was being sent home, he asked Dr. Bondoc if he could be confined instead - since his family was abroad. Dr. Bondoc confessed he promised him: “I’ll take care of you”.

This was Jessie’s personal conviction. He had so much faith in this “World Class” institution, which unfortunately failed to avert possible allergic reaction even given more than 12 hours he waited for an emergency CT Scan, which of all hours was conducted at 12 mid-night. There was a lot of time to have reinforced the initial diagnosis of appendicitis, to do further clinical tests and to confirm that his family did have a history of allergies.

The ordeal then started after confinement. As Korina Sanchez said, “Little did he know that he was walking to his death.” If I were Jessie, I would have asked why I had to sign a waiver before I could undergo a CT scan. What was I waiving? Was I agreeing that no matter what happened to me, the doctor, the medical staff, and the hospital were not at fault? All risks then were on me, as the patient, even though it was a doctor and a hospital induced contrast dye. But, this dye was not even a medicine to cure my illness. It was to help the doctor and the hospital to know more about my condition! How legally strong then is a hospital-crafted waiver form to completely absolve it, and/or its staff, especially if it caused harm, or worse, the life of a person?

If I were Jessie and it was clearly explained to me that there was a risk I might die from severe allergic reactions to this contrast dye, I would have asked if both the dye and the CT scan were needed in the first place. After all, did not my attending physician previously diagnose it as acute appendicitis? What added value would more information be? Can a CT Scan detect and rule out infectious deceases, as Dr. Bondoc wanted? If the doctor laid out the cards on Jessie, clearly giving a picture of risks and rewards; I am sure Jessie would have opted to immediately be cut up for appendicitis, which other doctors say is a 20 minute procedure.

I wonder if issues of risks and rewards are discussed at the level of the Board of Trustees and Board of Advisers of St. Luke’s Medical Center. Are they, in fact, willing to take risks of fatal reactions even as small as 4 out of 10,000 among their CT Scan patients? Rather, would they not maintain the position that life should be preserved at all costs especially under an improved protocol? What value should hospitals, especially non-profit, non-stock medical centers give life?

Many have agreed with Rene Rava. Jessie's death was a senseless one. The CT Scan was an unnecessary procedure. This lapse of judgment could have been avoided. At the least, the CT Scan protocol should have been tighter under the direct supervision of experienced medical personnel.


See Korina Sanchez on Jessie Bass –

http://youtube.com/watch?v=mYcpx_bUBHk



NOTE: Please share and email Jessie.vbass@yahoo.com if you, your relatives or friends have a similar experience with St. Luke’s Medical Center, its doctors and staff, or with other hospitals and medical practitioners in the Philippines.

My Son's Experience During a Routine CT Scan in St. Luke's

From: Renato G. Torres rgtorre@rocketmail.com

Subject: My Son's Experience During a Routine CT Scan in St. Lukes's

Attached is the complaint letter we have forwarded to St. Luke's Medical Center's administrators regarding my son's severe allergic reaction a few tears ago. Up to now we have not heard anything from St. Luke's regarding my son's case and the only recourse was to spread the word and the harrowing experience with this "world class hospital" via contacts in the e-mail so that patients be aware and beware of St. Luke's malpractices.

I still could not take away from my memory the pitiful condition my baby was in after the CT scan--with his swollen face to the point that one could no longer see his eyes--while thinking that even when taken to St. Luke's ER and adding insult to injury, my son was slowly dying in front of me while those incompetent ER staff can't do anything about it. The only consolation was me and my wife was with my son and we quickly opted to have my son removed from the premises of St. Luke's and returned to Capitol Medical Center where he was successfully revived from his allergic reaction.

At that time I had to file an an emergency leave and went back to the Philippines for just one week because my 1 year and 8 month old son then was just hospitalized for pneumonia at the Capitol Medical center. He was discharged from the hospital and was already feeling well and scheduled him for a CT scan with St. Luke's. Previously, he was diagnosed with hemiplegia (weakening of the left side of his body) and also with mild cerebral palsy exhibited by his inability to walk normally (he used to walk tiptoeing because of unknown reasons). The routine CT scan was recommended by a pediatric neurologist fro St. Luke's with the hope of determining the cause of his cerebral palsy.

Please feel free to spread the word and share this with our PisayDOS family.

Renatorgtorre@rocketmail.com

Friday, March 26, 2004
Attention: The Medical Director, St Lukes Medical CenterCc : Office of the President, St Lukes Medical Center

To Whom It May Concern:

I am complaining about the way my son’s Cranial Computerized Tomography scan (with contrast) was handled by the CT scan staff and personnel and the paid anesthesiologist, Dr. Feliciano P. Montano and his assistant Dr. Trias, leading to an adverse reaction or allergy (bulging eyelids, rashes, urticaria etc see St. Luke ER report) leading to my son’s treatment in St. Luke’s Medical Center’s pediatric ER and eventual hospitalization at Capitol Medical Center for four days. We believe, with accompanying proof that the required skin test for the dye (contrast) used on our 1 year and 9-month old son was not performed, causing the allergic reaction. (Shown with the timestamp picture and the CT scan timestamp – elapsed time is 11 minutes, not enough time to perform the required standard skin test of 15 minutes). Also, four sets were used for intravenous injection against my son because of the faulty sets they use and the unjust comment of the anesthesiologist about his time being wasted because they are unable to handle the infant, quoting in his own words “Yan ang mahirap pag bata malikot, tingnan nyo nasayang kong oras”. The CT scan was scheduled on March 12, 2004, 7:00am but the actual CT scan was performed at 8:08am. After performing the said procedure, my son was brought to the holding area for recovery. I was also informed that an anesthesiologist or assistant would be on-standby until the patient is fully awake (but when my son woke up, no one from the anesthesiology dept was present). My son showed signs of allergic reaction after recovery from anesthesia approximately two and half hours after the CT scan. The CT Scan staff had to wait for the anesthesiologist who never replied or went back to my son, his patient, to check on the allergic reaction and after much delay, the CT scan staff were eventually convinced to refer the allergic reaction to their own medical center’s pediatric ER, after I have insisted to personally bring him there. At the ER, after injecting with dipenhydramine (Benadryl) and EP (Ephenephrine) my son’s allergic condition worsened and his eyes and eyelids bulged even more to the point where one can not see his eyes anymore (see attached photo). After almost 3 hours in the ER, we were advised to either admit the patient or take him home since the allergy would eventually disappear in 3 days. Because I was not satisfied with the outcome at the ER, I opted my son removed from St. Luke’s Medical Center’s premise and immediately transferred to Capitol Medical Center emergency room, where he was eventually admitted, and treated for his allergic reaction. Attached is the report of Capitol Medical center regarding his admission. In view of this, I would like to request your office to conduct a thorough investigation on this matter and reprimand Dr. Feliciano P. Montano, who is responsible for performing appropriate allergy test(s), for negligence and malpractice. In addition, St Luke’s should pay for ALL the costs caused and incurred by the allergic reaction to my son. The pain, anguish and trauma experienced by the child and parents due to further medication and hospitalization because of these unnecessary and avoidable circumstances.

Sincerely,

Renato G. Torres (Father)
Ma. Elyneir D. Torres (Mother)
Christopher D. Torres (Patient)

Son of Aurora Yao

From: george yap gyyap@yahoo.com

I would like to share a similar incident regarding the son of my colleague, Aurora Yao, in Sunlife. Her son's name was Garrick. He was 21 yrs old. He studied in Xavier and UP and was academically endowed. He was maintaining a MAGNA CUM LAUDE standing and was aspiring to be a SUMMA CUM LAUDE.

He was well into sports as he played good badminton, etc. Extracurriculars in frisbee and guitar playing could have been avocations.

In one swimming party, Garrick dove into a swimming pool , missed the part he was aiming for, and hit his head suffering from some spine injury. He was brought and confined at the Asian Hospital. His mom and dad had to travel all the way from Damar Village in QC everyday to Alabang to visit and check on Garrick. Because of this, they decided to move him to St. Luke's after about almost a months confinement. After about a week being in St. Luke's, Aurora was told that he was out of danger. The following day, Garrick died. I don't know the details as I have been quite busy. This happened in October, our company's final sales drive for the year. Not so long ago, about 11 years, Aurora also lost a daughter to cancer. And sakit.

Take care and may God bless us all.

George

Sons of Ramon Castillo

From: Ramon Castillo

To: 'Riza Mantaring' rizagm@pldtdsl.net


Riza , I have 2 stories to tell as well about the incompetence and possibly greed of St. Luke's. You may pass them on if you want.

Story Number 1

My son broke his arm during our vacation to the province so we brought him to the hospital and have his arm xrayed and casted. 3 weeks later, when we went back to Manila, we have the arm check in St. Lukes even when my son was claiming that its okay.

When the doctor came in, we told him the story how our son broke his arm 3 weeks ago. Without batting an eyelash, without checking the xray, without even touching my son's arm, the doctor told my wife to prepare 200K for a surgery scheduled the next day to put a metal pin inside his arm.

My wife panicked and called me, so i told her to ask for a second opinion from another doctor. So my wife brought my son to another doctor in National Orthopedic. The doctor xrayed my son's arm and commented that he can barely see where the fracture occured because the arm is almost completely healed. He said that the arm is okay and told my wife and son to go home. Up to now 5 years later, my son has never complained about his broken arm. In his latest xray even an expert can't find out that he ever exprienced a broken arm. It is completely healed.

Story Number 2

My other son complained of a severe abdominal pain.

All battery of tests where given (kidney, liver, gall bladder, intestines) . They can't find whats wrong with him. We have already spent more P100k after 3 days stay in St lukes. The doctor ordered another battery of tests focusing on his heart. The tests including the consultants would cost us another P80K. I complained because I don't see the connection between abdominal pains and cardio tests. I consulted a classmate who is a renowned cardiologists about the matter. he laughed and told me to bring my son home. We brought our son home 5 days after confinement and P120k poorer without even finding out what was wrong with him.

Pray that your children don't get sick when it is almost summer. The Doctors in St. Lukes need the funds for their vacations abroad. :-)

mon c.

Mon, you may want to read this.

One of my son's best friends also died recently because of the incompetence of St. Luke's personnel -- he was only 21, was running for summa cum laude (UP Mech Eng), highly athletic (former varsity), very well loved by his friends because he was really such a great guy.

Riza

Hospitals as a Business

From: Arnel Limuaco ajsl_365@yahoo.com

May I share my story also from a five star hospital.

SA PANAHON NGAYON, BAWAL ANG MAGKASAKIT-Do not be the next victim!

All 5 of us in the family are Valuecare health cardholders for the last several years and so far we have not experienced any problem with the utilization of this medical insurance. Most of our cases are managed in the emergency room of Cardinal Santos Medical Center, most accessible from our house. Except for one when Joan had to undergo surgery due to gall bladder stone in 1998 where she was confined for several days. Such confinement was also remarkable in terms of accommodation and service. Until last Aug 3, 2005, when we had to rush Nanay to the ER of CSMC for severe stomach pains with continuous vomiting and LBM, we will now have second thoughts of coming here for medical services especially without the assistance of a health insurance. I’d like to share with you a detailed story of our horrible experience because we don’t want you to be the next victim. We all deserve to get our hard-earned money’s worth.

At around 9pm of August 3, 2005, I dropped off Nanay and Arlene at the ER of CSMC and parked my car. As I leave my car, a security guard approached me to give me a parking card because I bypassed the main gate because Nanay was in severe pain. Well-trained guard. He made sure that I would not miss paying the 20peso-parking fee when we go out. Nanay was immediately attended to and was given initial medications. It took several hours before she got over the pain. At around 3am, the Resident on Duty recommended an ultrasound. The ultra sound section opened at 7am and until 8am, Nanay was still in the ER. The ER personnel failed to inform ultrasound section about Nanay. It was only when I inquired what’s delaying the procedure, Nanay was escorted to the ultrasound section. After the ultrasound, the ROD requested us to wait for the initial result because Nanay might be admitted. At that point, they were already suspecting stone problem. The ROD said that the initial result would be available by 9am. However, the result came out a few minutes before noon and, indeed, she needs to be admitted. There was no available room at that time. Rates were Php1, 800.00-private with extra bed, TV, ref, phone and a CR; Php750.00-small private with couch, common CR outside room; Php700.00-small private with chair, common CR outside room. Nice strategy yeah. We were allowed to go home and just inquire by phone of room availability.

Nanay was finally admitted late afternoon. Any amount will do for deposit. Woweee! Have you heard about the Php15, 000.00 deposit after the lobby renovation? A pedia friend in CSMC confirmed that to me. It was stopped when a patient complained and posted her complain in the Internet. On Nanay’s first day of confinement, she was given a very powerful antibiotic (Ciprofloxacin-Ciprobay IV 200mg, administered via dextrose) 2x a day. This is for pneumonia. She could have probably acquired this during her long stay at the ER (hospital-acquired pneumonia). She had 2 vials of this already when I requested for a bill update on her second day. Woweee again. Each vial costs Php2, 400.00, net of senior discount. Outside, each vial only costs Php 1,300.00, net of senior discount. Called up my friend from Bayer, Ciprobay’s manufacturer, and committed to give me 2 vials for free. Thank heavens. According to hospital policies, patients are not allowed to purchase meds outside however one of the residents attending to Nanay allowed us. Joan and I picked up the vials from Tandang Sora where my friend lives, 10pm. These 2 vials were supposed to be for the 2am and 2pm dose of the next day. I was surprised to learn later that the 2am dose was not given. When I asked the nurse on duty why, I got a very horrible answer. They are not allowed to administer drugs bought by patients outside the hospital and they even expect us to do that according to her. I told her that isn’t that against her oath as nurse? She just said, “Sorry, it’s the hospital policy”. I talked to the resident who allowed us to buy meds outside and she just volunteered to administer the anti biotics whenever needed. Looks like it’s a strict policy. Even putting the patient’s condition at risk. Nanay needs to undergo ERCP according to her Gastro MD. It’s a procedure where a tube is inserted to the throat all the way down sa stomach area. It should find out the location of the stone. Another trouble. CSMC machine for this procedure is out of order at the time of Nanay’s schedule, Friday, August 12. The gastro says that the procedure will be done at St. Lukes where he is also affiliated and instead will be done Saturday because Friday’s full already. CSMC told us that an ambulance to and from SLMC would transport Nanay. CSMC claims that they don’t maintain ambulances anymore. Instead they call outside services. “Isang malaking ospital na tila mahusay ang serbisyo, walang ambulansya?” To add insult to injury, CSMC told us that we would be the ones to shoulder the charges of the ambulance service. Php2, 800.00 to and from SLMC. However, the ambulance only has a one-hour allowable waiting time. In excess of this, an additional of Php350.00 will be charged per hour. I estimated to spend Php5, 000.00 just for the ambulance. No way! I signed a waiver that we will just be the ones to transport Nanay to SLMC. I rented a van for Php1, 000.00. Picked us up from CSMC at 11:30am and back at almost 4:00pm already. But before we got over the procedure at SLMC, we got involved again in another CSMC hostage drama. They wouldn’t allow us to leave CSMC unless we pay Php10, 000.00. Sort of bond? Oh dear Lord. And we were only informed about it when we’re about to leave already. We only have the amount for the procedure in SLMC. I tried my best to be able to call Nanay’s gastro. After several minutes, I was able to contact him and he vouched for our leaving the hospital without bond. This seemingly good hospital can afford to put their patients at risk just to make sure they get the ransom money from their patient-hostages. Back to CSMC, daily, I make sure that I get a detailed copy of the updated bills. I noticed one day, the powerful, super expensive antibiotic in vial form, which we buy outside, appeared and charged. I called the attention of the nurse station. They conferred about it and got back to me later that it was already ok and credited. And, very surprisingly, this happened 3 more times later and from different shifts. We were never told why these things happened, despite numerous inquiries, which forced me to suspect some misbehavior of some hospital personnel. Total mis charged drugs amounted to almost Php5, 000.00 that were reversed later accordingly. “Paano kung hindi ako nag check?” How about the cotton, syringes, plasters, and other supplies from Central Supply Section, which almost come out of the bills daily? Nanay’s total CSS charges amounted to Php9, 000.00. How I’d wished I had the time to trail the CSS supplies. Oooops, another mess. From the lobby, if a patient needs a wheelchair, you need to submit an ID to the entrance guard to get one. You have to return the wheelchair back to the entrance area to get back your ID. Ano ba yan? Lahat ng klase ng bulok na serbisyo meron! Husto naman ang bayad!

To top it all, Nanay was discharged after 7days with NO firm/contrete report of diagnosis/findings. They did all the necessary (?) examinations and laboratory tests including a CT scan outside CSMC (done 2 days after confinement). I got a second opinion from a gastro friend at Capitol Medical Center. It was only then that things were explained to me seriously. Reports that I expected to get from CSMC. More importantly, the findings of Capitol were very favorable. Praise God!

This Cardinal Santos Medical Center horrible experience will definitely be a very unforgettable one. I don’t want you to be the next victim!


Arnel Limuaco

The Case of Francisco Alegre

From: Tana Victa tanavicta525@yahoo.com

My nephew, Francisco Alegre, had a bicycle accident that broke his ankle in the early 1990's. He was taken to the St Luke's Medical Center to undergo an operation where the doctors would insert a metal bar. In the operating table after being given anesthesia, doctors claim he went into a cardiac arrest. The doctors decided against the operation to drill (for the metal screw hold on the metal bar) and instead set the broken bone in place and cast it. My nephew never regained consciousness. He has been bed-ridden, for more than 10 years. I do not know the medical terms for his condition, but with the eyes of a layman like me, he looks like he is mentally retarded. He sleeps, he wakes up. He cannot eat but is fed through a feeding tube straight to his stomach. He is being cared for 24 hours by a nurse, sometimes, a therapist.

Another Misdiagnosis at St. Luke's Medical Center

From: elvira zuniga elviezuniga2003@yahoo.com

Subject: Another victim of misdiagnosis

I'm so sorry for your tragic loss. Who would think that in this day, and in a hospital at that, that an appendicitis could not be diagnosed even by personnel with some degree of medical training. But then, I personally think that all this "greatness" of St. Luke's is carrying it overboard. There may be or have been a few really great doctors but it's a mistake to lump everyone in that hospital facility with that degree of excellence.

4 years ago, my dad was diagnosed with lung cancer. He was entered into this clinical trial that was being undertaken by one of the oncologists of that hospital. To make a long story short, when he started to have fevers in the afternoon, the diagnosis went from fevers due to his cancer to tuberculosis to malaria (and he hadn't been anywhere locally or anywhere in countries that may still have malaria) and God knows what else. His number of doctors grew and now included an infectious diseases doctor. Despite this and the many medicines that were given, his condition did not improve. He slowly deteriorated till he died. Shortly before his death, in our frustration we called on his initial cardiologist-internal medicine doctor. He thought my dad had pneumonia. A pulmunologist , who wasn't one of his doctors in his roster of attendings was called in to verify the diagnosis. X-rays, which none of the doctors thought of, were taken. They confirmed the diagnosis. But by then, it was too late and no amount of antibiotics could fight the pneumonia. This confirmed what many have said that cancer victims do not die of cancer but from other things. Most of the time, I hardly saw those very expensive consultants/specialists. But there were a lot of interns and residents who kept writing things on his chart but which apparently wasn't really being read.

Elvira Zuniga

Marlon Tuason-Tronqued's Traumatic Experience

Yes, thank you very much for this life-saving feedback on Jessie regarding St Luke's. Please do seriously regard this last account. You know what kind of trauma I had gone through due to St. Luke's Medical Center's misdiagnosis of my own son's condition.

Let me recount 9 years back when my son, Marlon Tuason-Tronqued who was 9 years old then, was brought in on April 26, 1999 at 2:00AM into the ER of St Luke's for what was initially diagnosed then as acute appendicitis by the resident doctor. My son was asked to check in and we had to wait for a private room to be available and for the senior surgeon to come to the hospital by 0600H. All this time, my son had nothing by mouth and was in extreme pain. Benjamin Gaddi was the surgeon assigned to him. Suffice it to say that he was trying to rule out viral fever and said surgeon opted not to operate until my son started to exhibit signs of being in severe shock (low pulse and bp).

A decision was made to do explore-laparotomy (in lieu of what would just have been a side incision for appendectomy) only by 9:25PM, a good 18 hours AFTER the boy was brought into this hospital's confines. By then, his appendix had ruptured. He was in ICU for 5 days and in hospital care for another 7.

Marlon had intestinal adhesions (peritoneal lavage had to be performed to clean out the poisoning caused by the appendix rupturing) in the 5 months that followed. The doctor in question never followed up with us as to his condition. Dr Reyes, Asst Medical Director then, kindly took over the case. I had my own private battle with the hospital then and the painful memories started to rush in upon learning of Jessie's case. My heart reaches out to the grieving family of Jessie. I know so. Recalling my son's close brush with death every time causes me a sharp physical chest pain.

Marlon's schooling and athletics suffered greatly. And I as his mom and caregiver in all of the months which ensured had to leave the employment of Peninsula Manila to look after him.

I thank the Lord for looking after my son who is completely healed. He's 18 now.

My best wishes to everyone for the new year.

Mitzi T. Tronqued
MNLTMA@cathaypacific.com

Jaafgie's Grandpa at St. Luke's Medical Center

From: jaafgie garcia jaafgie@gmail.com

Subject: My Grandfather

My grandfather had a similar incident. This was rather some time ago, so I don't remember much of the story. He was diabetic, and was definitely prone to some form of heart disease. I think he was taking anti-cholesterol drugs at the time.

During the summer of 2000 (I think), he was brought to the St. Luke's Medical Center complaining of chest pains. They let him stay in the emergency room for nearly 12 hours, most of the time unattended, only comforted by family. All this time, they did little to address his complaints of chest pains.

My mom had been asking for an ECG the moment they arrived at the hospital. My mom is a doctor, but not a cardiologist (but an ob-gyne). It took the hospital 12 hours to recognize the need for such a test.

If my mother hadn't demanded that the hospital staff do an ECG after Hour 12, they wouldn't have seen an impending heart attack. They had mere minutes to provide support. My grandfather went into cardiac arrest just about after the ECG was conducted.

We couldn't help but think that this could have been avoided had the staff done something in those critical 12 hours he waited inside one of the most well-equipped emergency rooms in the country. It should have been a simpler case of high blood or mild cardiac arrest, not the massive one that he had, which led to multiple organ failure.

We did look at pursuing legal action against the hospital, but we decided against it because we lacked the finances necessary to wage a legal war against the medical giant. We even approached politicians to help us in our cause, but they refused to help. Our finances had been drained, my grandfather stayed at the hospital for months after, I think a few months in the ICU, which cost I think not less than 15k per day. We would have transferred him somewhere else if not for his critical condition. He survived this ordeal, but with a diminuished quality of life.

All of the hospital's millions of dollars worth of equipment would mean absolutely NOTHING to the life of their patients without experienced people running them. And it's really sad to hear that even after 8 years, the situation hasn't changed.

My prayers go to victims of Medical Malpractice.

The Case of Ernie Go

Subject: My husband’s experience at Marikina Valley Hospital

My husband Ernie Go had his surgery on his gallbladder stone last May 29, 2007 by a surgeon doctor at Marikina Valley Hospital. That was the first time my husband and I met him. He was discharge the next day. But my husband experienced stomach pains after the operation. We went back to the doctor to complain about the pain. The doctor said that sometimes patient experience pain for 1 week. So the doctor gave medicine to take for stomach pain. But the pain was getting stronger, until my husband decided to have ultra sound last September 29, 2007.

Doctor from NKTI was the one who made the ultra sound and he saw a mass in his pancreas, and the size was 3.75 cm. The Doctor requested my husband to have a biopsy. In short he had biopsy last October 3, 2007 at National Kidney Transplant Institute, and we got the result October 10, 2007 with malignant cancer in pancreas with liver metastases. So it was stage 4. We went to our family doctor at Medical City to show the result of the biopsy. Our family doctor told us that the tumor should have been seen at the time of his surgery last May. The 3 doctors who handled when my husband was hospitalized at National Kidney Transplant Institute last November 19, 2007, also told us that the tumor was there when he had a surgery last May 2007.

My question is: why the surgeon doctor at Marikina Valley Hospital who did my husband’s surgery did not see that there was a mass, when he had his ultra sound before the surgery (Galbladder), and why he did not see that there was a mass in his pancreas in time of surgery? The pancreas is very near to our Galbladder.

My husband died last December 18, 2007. It was very fast and painful for me and my kids.

The lesson I've learned from this, is we have to be sure of the doctors specially a surgeon and have a second, third opinion from other doctors. I wrote this not to accuse the doctor who had my husband’s surgery, but to remind the hospitals and doctors to be more careful and sure in what they are doing because the life of a person is in their hands.

Lynda Karl Go <lyndakarlgo@yahoo.com>

What can be done about Medical Malpractice?

I heard of so many other cases of malpractice, negligence and institutional inefficiencies, although I dont have the details. It is not only at St. Lukes, but in many other medical institutions. I was also recently operated on and had difficulties all along the way in dealing with doctors, hospital personnel and insurance agencies. My brother also had troubles in dealing with his brain tumor - almost harassed by one doctor to proceed with one procedure which could have been fatal.

Unfortunately, it seems that the legal system (and ethics/camaraderie among medical professionals) in the Philippines is not capable of handling valid complaints of medical malpractice and institutional negligence

But what can we do?

I thought that one way is to set up a medical consumer protection network where users of medical services can consult with and report to. For example, I want to be informed about experiences of patients who went through treatment that is similar to my ailment to help me in making decisions. Also professional fees, troubles to anticipate, what to do in any eventuality, and so on. And I also want to share the medical treatment I received. Maybe, even to rate doctors, hospitals and so on. Perhaps there can be reviews and ratings of hospitals - just like the internet based product or services reviews.

The idea here is not to replace the expert opinions and diagnosis of health professionals, but to provide some additional information from the perspective of consumers or users of medical services.

I belong to a non-government network and I think many will be open to this type of protection network. Jessie's death is a senseless one. These things could have been avoided. But for as long as there is no public accountability or ethical audit system, incidents such as Jessie's case will continue to happen without the public knowing about this, and without responsibility and accountability on the part of the medical sector.

Rene Raya rrraya@gmail.com
Action for Economic Reforms
Quezon City Phils

An Advice from a Retired Doctor

Malpractice is a sad reality. lt occurs all over the world. The Philippines is not an exception. The local situation is aggravated by the lack of a comprehensive set of malpractice laws.

The local med mafia has so far been quite successful in blocking even the tamest legislative move to correct the situation. This, along with the absence of any in-hospital quality assurance protocol leaves a patient quite literally at the mercy of the attending physician. This is a subject worthy of a week long seminar, so l wont get into it. But....

There are a few items, your friend should clarify. Foremost is the diagnosis of acute appendicitis and then "sending the patient home". NOBODY IS THAT DUMB. Even a 3rd year med STUDENT should know, that acute appendicitis equals surgery. lt is possible, that appendicitis was NOT the initial diagnosis? This could also explain the need for the CT study (appendicitis is one of the easiest disease to diagnose and very (very) rarely need a CT study). Then, the physician should be made to explain WHY, he did NOT think of appendicitis. lf he indeed thought of this then why did he try to send the patient home - lt doesn't really compute - there is misinformation here.

Re: the reaction to the X-ray contrast - a first or second year resident SHOULD be able to handle that. By and large, this is simple allergy. A very small percentage will get an anaphylactoid reaction and may die. lt doesnt constitute malpractice, per se, - the question is what kind of treatment was given, when, and how appropriate was this. (l assume, the patient did not eat a few hours prior to the exam - if he did, then that would make matters worse - regurgitation-aspiration).

Lessons -

A good hospital doesn't mean good doctors. Do not be shy in contradicting, getting a second opinion, even transfering to another facility. Do not ever think of any doctor as a GOD. Remember, God doesn't need to earn!

There are problems inherent to big hospitals. Primary is SCHEDULING and all ramifications connected to scheduling problems. If its an elective procedure, by all means REFUSE any study that can be done in the daytime from Monday to Friday. ALL hospitals are understaffed at night, during weekends and holidays but any self-respecting hospital administration will deny this.

If you need an Xray study that requires contrast injection and if you have money (it is quite expensive) and you have a strong history of allergy then by all means ask for a non-ionic contrast or even a hypo-ionic one. (The problem is l dont know if the Philippines has this).

Korina Sanchez' Advocacy

This is Korina Sanchez and this is my advocacy.

If you wish to be heard more, make a difference by joining the People's Health Watch, which I founded in Metro Manila. There is an original active group from Cebu with which we are affiliated. We have been actively pursuing this in Congress for legislation and have moved forward by leaps and bounds. Still, the final step of legislation is elusive.

As a stop-gap measure we are about to sign a MOA with the Philippine Medical Association on the Patients' Right and Obligations Campaign. This means we need volunteers, we need funding, we need membership and a louder voice ---- to save lives from malpractice and negligence also due to the patients' lack of participation in what doctors do to our bodies.

If you are interested to commit please email me back: korina sanchez korina_abs@yahoo.com

Thanks and best regards.


Korina

The Brillantes' Sad Experience at St. Luke's Medical Center

From: Arlene & Ted Brillantes

Hi,

I'm sharing our own sad experience with St Lukes Medical Center at 2006. My brother had already posted this at

http://www.pinoyexchange.com/forums/showthread.php?p=23351149#post23351149.

Feel free to check that out.

We hope that our stories may effect change in not just St. Lukes but as well as the rest of the hospitals in the country.The state of Philippine Medical Service

Here is our story....

I would like to share to you my painful experience with the medical service in the Philippines. On July 7 of this year, my father died at St Lukes Medical Center, QC. He was admitted there on June 27 complaining of a swelling in his leg. After a week, he was a given a clean bill of health and was informed he could leave in the morning. But about 72 hrs later he was dead!

A month earlier the same hospital performed a general check up and declared him healthy without any major illness or medical problem. How can it happen at St. Luke's Medical Center which claims to be “one of the world’s best”? [quotation is from st. luke’s website] Had the same thing happened in a small provincial hospital like what we have in Abra, where medical facilities are less sophisticated, the right medicines may not have been available and the doctors may not have had the same experience and expertise, it would still have been very difficult to understand but easier to accept. Yet this was St. Luke's Medical Center which prides in “delivering quality healthcare…combining medical expertise and the most advanced technology”.

When I learned of papa's confinement I didn’t worry much since he was at an excellent hospital, was reported to be in good condition and in happy disposition. So I was truly shocked and surprised when on July 5, I received a text message from my sister Arlene that my father was in a serious condition. I was able to talk to papa through a phone conference arranged by Fr. Michael, my brother priest living in San Francisco. Though papa was in good spirits, I could sense that his condition was not good as I could hear his labored breathing through the phone. As the evening progressed, his condition deteriorated quickly. I took the next flight to Manila but it was too late. My father died before I could see him. My siblings and I were all in a shock. We just couldn't believe that our father who never had any serious illness, who took precautions for his health and was declared fit to go home by a world-acclaimed hospital would pass away and so quickly at that.

In anguish and in pain, we struggled to understand. His death is especially painful for my sister, Arlene, who attended to him throughout his confinement and who was with him on that fateful night. She recounted how my father was in excruciating pain; how no doctor went to see him even after she repeatedly called attention of the head nurse. She later told us with tears in her eyes and in a crackling voice, “Maybe if I had taken him home on the day he was supposed to have been discharged and brought him back to the emergency room, he would have received immediate medical attention and would have survived.” On July 10, three days after his death, we sent a letter to the hospital asking for explanation. It took 2 weeks and a second letter for the hospital to respond. They requested a dialog with us on July 26. In that meeting, the management admitted there was negligence on the part of doctors and nurses. They promised to do a full investigation and offered to forfeit the unpaid bill of P90,000.00.

We did not accept the offer but insisted on a full report. Arlene followed up on their promised report almost everyday but to no avail. She was repeatedly told to return the next day. Finally, she was told that it would take 45 days to finalize the investigation. Why does it take 45 days, when all records and attending staff were available? Strange as it was, we did not raise the question and decided to wait and to hope. The promised 45-day period came and went and there was no word at all from the hospital.
So on Sept 4, we sent an ultimatum letter demanding for the following: 1) to find the truth; 2) to institute corrective measures, where errors and faults are detected, for the sake of other patients, and; 3) fair and just and compensation for our loss.

The hospital management responded on Sept 20. In that letter it acknowledged failure from the resident physician but it was lacking in details as to what really happened and on what corrective actions were taken. Moreover, it claimed that “some diagnostic plans offered by Dra. Payot (the consulting physician) was not done due to the refusal of Arlene. When there was a need to call the attending physician during that night that he was in pain, Arlene vetoed it.”We were simply aghast and appalled by these outrageous claims. Instead of acknowledging failure and responsibility and doing its best to assuage hurt feelings, the hospital blames the family. Wow, unbelievable! How can a prestigious hospital sink so low? The patient is admitted by the hospital. From the time of admission, the hospital is responsible for the patient. Any six-grader can understand that. Actually, there should not even be a need for a family member to call the attention of the hospital regarding a deteriorating condition of a patient. That is the responsibility of the hospital and its staff. But here you have my sister telling the head nurse, repeatedly at that, to call bedside medical attention to our father? No medical staff responded! Now, the hospital says that my sister should have called the consultant herself? Wow! Does the hospital mean to say that for all its bandied excellent medical service, they have no standard procedure in responding to critical situation? What if my sister was not in the room at all, would my father have died a slow painful death without even anyone noticing it? This is truly, shockingly unbelievable!

The callous, uncaring, indifferent and insulting manner the hospital has dealt with our rightful complaint leaves my siblings and me with no choice but to find justice for our dead father through the courts.

Unless St Lukes accept their mistake they will not implement change and the incidents will continue.

If you need further information or supporting documents we will be happy to provide them.

Finally, we did not proceed with the suit against St Lukes as we knew it will be a long struggle and costly.

Thank you for your time and I would welcome any comments.

Ted Brillantes tedbrillantes@yahoo.com
69 Prasartsook, Yenakard, Chongnonsee,
Yannawa, Bangkok, Thailand
Tel. (662) 249-1951, (663) 1 384 394



Brothers,

The story of Jessie V. Bass can be found on this link:

http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2007/dec/26/yehey/opinion/20071226opi2.html

Arlene Brillantes