DOH backs malpractice case over death of female walk-in patient
Doctors, staff in Mandaue City Hospital face admin charges
A mother with a fever and high blood pressure walked into the emergency room of the Mandaue City Hospital with two young children about 6 p.m
By 11 p.m., she was agitated, pulling off her IV line. She yelled that she “can’t take it anymore” and cursed the staff for trying to “kill” her by giving the wrong medication.
She was dead before 1 a.m., her outburst recorded on video by her 11-year-old son using her cameraphone.
The death last Jan. 2 of walk-in patient Joceyln Coliflores is heading for a malpractice suit after a Department of Health (DOH) fact-finding committee recommended the filing of a formal charge with the Professional Regulations
Commission (PRC) since the DOH itself “has no jurisdiction over medical malpractice complaints.””
The seven-page report had two other recommendations: to file administrative complaints aganst hospital personnel with the Mandaue city government which operates the public hospital, and to do a re-autopsy of Coliflores to check what may have been missed in the first autopsy which said the woman died of cardiac arrest.
The case drew wide attention after Joceyln’s husband uploaded on his Facebook account the video of his wife acting hysterical after an antibiotic Cefuroxime sodium and Ranitidine, was administered to her.
Jocelyn’s voice is heard in the video asking her son to take a video of her, struggling to breathe and agitated, as evidence.
“Dili na nako kaya, ila ko gipapatay. Ikiha ta mo hasta ang mga doctor (I can”t take it anymore. They’re killing me. I’ll sue you including doctor,)” she shouted.
She was later given a sedative, Dipenhydramine, to calm her down.
She died about five hours after.
The DOH report of findings and recommendations dated Feb. 10 was made public yesterday by the patient’s husband Cesar and his lawyer Inocencio dela Cerna, who insist she was misdiagnosed and given the wrong medication that triggered her attack.
Cesar, a former overseas worker, said he was encouraged by the DOH findings to pursue his legal battle.
“Akong nakita ang kahayag gikan sa DOH. Dili nako mo atras,” he told the reporters. (I can see light from the DOH in this struggle. I won’t back down.)
He said he had no plans to settle the case.
“I did not even dream of that. I want justice for my wife,” he added.
Would he withdraw the case if the hospital staff apologizes?
“All I can say is that I have decided to file case.”
His wife’s death was first described as a “probably ruptured cerebral aneurysm” in the death certificate signed by Dr. Segovia. An autopsyshowed the cause of death was “sudden cardiac arrest”, which pointed to a pre-existing heart problem.
The fact-finding committee report was signed by Dr. Sophia Mancao, the chairman, and members with Dr. Jaime Bernadas, DOH-7 regional director.
Lawyer dela Cerna said the family was happy that the DOH inquiry results support their plan to file cvil, administrative and criminal charges against the doctors and medical staff of the government hospital led by Dr. Maria Lourdes Espinosa, OIC chief.
“We will also include other nurses and even the security guard. We will make ammendments on the complaints so that we can send the documents to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI-7),” Dela Cerna told the reporters.
Names of medical staff in the fact-finding report include:
Dr. Antoinette Alcantara, attending physician
Karla Blossom Algar, nurse on duty (2-10 p.m shift) who administered Ranitidine and Cefuroxime
Ma. Eusa Fe Leguerra, nurse (2-10 p.m shift) who received the patient in Annex Private Room.
Gisela Gestopa, nurse (10 p.m – 6 a.m shift)
Dr. Rachel Anne Segovia, resident physician on duty
Antonio Canillias, institutional worker
Kyle Rivera, emergency room nurse
Nurse Dino Valera who conducted the Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) ambubagging.
Dela Cerna said that they will gather investigation results by the NBI-7 and Mandaue City legal office before they file the case.
“I am urging the legal office of the Mandaue City government to finalize their investigation. We also hope that NBI-7’s investigation results will be finished within the month,” Dela Cerna added.
“If not, we are keeping our options open. I can convince Mr. Coliflores to file the case with the Office of the Ombudsman, the PRC and Mandaue City Prosecutors’ Office,” he said.
The DOH said it’s own action was limited.
“The committee cannot pass upon the issue of medical malpractice as the same has to be lodged before a competent tribunal, which may be the Professional Regulations Commission (PRC). It is however the opinion of the committee that the medicines given to treat the complaints of the patient were tolerable and acceptable doses.”
Second, “The committee cannot take cognizance of the request of Mr. Coliflores to preventively suspend Dr. Antoinette Alcantara and other medical staff” who handled the wife during admission because the hospital is owned and operated by the Mandaue city government.
The committee said it found that the hospital itself “complied with the standards on personnel, physical, equipment and instruments, service delivery, quality improvement (QI) activities, information management (completeness of patient’s record) and environmental management.”
It also noted that “appropriate laboratory exams were ordered by the attending physicians but not performed.”