Cebu Governor Hilario Davide III has ordered the suspension of the chief of the Minglanilla District Hospital because of their failure to aid a hit-and-run victim, who died before reaching the hospital on Wednesday dawn.
Davide also directed the Provincial Health Office (PHO) to investigate the incident so that sanctions can be imposed on erring hospital personnel.
Dr. Bella Villaganas will remain under preventive suspension until PHO completes its investigation, Davide said on Wednesday’s press conference.
Villaganas was said to have issued an order to only allow use of their ambulance in transporting patients from one hospital to another in compliance with a Capitol directive.
An irate Davide said such an instruction did not come from the Cebu provincial government.
“Dili jud balibaran kung kinsa man ang nangihanglan ug tabang, any patient nga na disgrasya kay what the hospital is there for, is to save lives. Who knows kung na padayon to nadala sa ambulance mabuhi pa unta. (Never refuse any request for assistance from any accident victim because the hospital is supposed to be there to save lives. Had the ambulance been sent to fetch the victim, he could have been saved),” Davide said.
Cebu Daily News tried to reach Dr. Villaganas at the Minglanilla District Hospital, but this reporter was told by a hospital staff that she was out of the office. The hospital personnel also refused to give Villaganas’ personal number.
Davide became irate following reports on the refusal of hospital personnel to send an ambulance to rescue a hit-and-run victim on Wednesday dawn.
A community page called the Cebu Flash Report posted on its Facebook page about an incident which happened around 1:10 a.m. on Wednesday in Barangay Tunghaan in Minglanilla town, south Cebu.
The post said that a man, a hit-and-run victim, lay on the cemented road.
Those who saw the incident immediately went to the nearby Minglanilla District Hospital to ask for the deployment of an ambulance to fetch the victim who was still moving then. But their requests were rejected by the security guard and a female nurse on duty.
“Dili pwede Sir kay mao man jud na ang instruction sa Kapitolyo. Pwede ra ka mo reklamo didto sa province. Dili man ni sa munisipyo,” the nurse was quoted as telling those who requested for an ambulance.
Cebu Flash Report said on its FB post that policemen who responded to the hit-and-run incident were the ones who brought the victim to the hospital.
But the victim did not make it to the hospital alive.
“I was angry nga mao toy nahitabo niya. Giingnan panga polisiya ni sa Kapitolyo nga dili raba na polisiya sa Kapitolyo (I was angry because of what happened. The people were even told that such is an existing policy of the capitol when in fact it is not),” Davide said.
Davide said Villaganas will have to answer for the incident since she is in charge of hospital operations./ Xavier University Intern Jeasselle Villalobos