FOR the fourth time, Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III had to learn about the death of a baby in a province-run hospital from the media instead of government medical officers.
An investigation into the handling of four-month-old patient Brian James Pinote is underway, he said yesterday.
Davide said he met with Provincial Health Officer Dr. Cynthia Genosolango and the chief of the Barili District Hospital and is awaiting their formal report.
His grandmother, Saturnina Mari, criticized nurses for allegedly ignoring her complaint that the baby, who was given IV fluids and an oxygen tube, had trouble breathing and then suddenly died.
It was Sunday, when reporters called Capitol officials for comment on the case.
The official cause of death was acute respiratory distress syndrome, and acute gastroenteritis with moderate fever dehydration based on the death certificate.
“The PHO is on top of that. They are investigating it now,” Davide told a a press conference at the Capitol on Monday.
In the wake of several publicized deaths of children in province-run hospitals in recent weeks, which had resulted in the governor dismissing two contract-work doctors, Davide had made it clear to the PHO that he wanted to be informed quickly of similar deaths, and for improvements to be made in the system of reporting as well as a higher degree of “care” by front line medical staff.
It was not clear why the recent Barili case did not reach Davide promptly, another source of embarassment for his administration, which takes pride in introducing reforms in provincial and district hospitals.
There have been two reported deaths in the Minglanilla District Hospital, and one in Tuburan town.
Yesterday Davide sounded frustrated that the latest case was being used by political opponents.
He said patient deaths happen even in private hospitals but that detractors were trying to make political capital out of it.
“Back then, when someone dies in the hospital, nobody took advantage. They never made it a political issue. But now, they’re using it to put this administration down,” said Davide.
The governor found out about the most recent death in Barili town last Sunday when Provincial Information Officer Ethel Natera told him.
Natera learned about the baby’s death from news reporters.
She said Dr. Genosolango was informed of the case last Saturday.
The Barili hospital chief, Dr. Jose de Leon Jr., conducted a dialog with medical staff and the baby’s grandmother, Saturnina Mari, last Sunday.
He explained to the grandmother the condition of her grandchild and the treatment given.
“Whether or not she was satisfied with the explanation, I could not tell,” Natera said.
She said there may have been a miscommunication between the grandmother and the attending nurses.
The grandmother lamented that the nurses ignored her plea to do something after noticing the baby had difficulty breathing after oxygen was administered through a nasal cannula or nose tube.
“The nurse told her that it was okay. But it seemed like she wasn’t satisfied with the assurance because she had a different perception,” Natera said.
She said the nurses informed the doctor that the child was having trouble breathing before the oxygen was administered to him.
Natera said the PHO has yet to release Dr. De Leon’s official report.
The child’s grandmother said the baby got an immunization shot the day before he was admitted.
Whether or not this was related to the infant’s death, only a medical inquiry can establish.
Cebu Daily News asked a private pediatrician about how a sick baby with this condition could die in hospital a day after confinement.
The doctor, who will remain unnamed since she is not handling the case, said the immunization could not have caused the death.
She said the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) could have developed because the baby already had difficulty breathing due to dehydration.
She said the acute gastroenteritis and infectious diarrhea mentioned in the death certificate showed that germs were already in the baby’s system.
First aid treatment includes IV fluids and antibiotics, depending on lab findings to identify what’s causing the infection.
Factors are linked to the water used for the baby’s milk, sanitation at home, as possible contamination.
It’s possible the illness and dehydration were already at a late stage when the baby was brought to the hospital, she said.
Natera, meanwhile, said the child was only referred to the district hospital by a certain Dr. Rene Gandionco.
The baby was attended to in Barili District Hospital by an internist who is under a service contract with the provincial government.
Davide said the Capitol is trying its best to discipline nurses and doctors who have committed mistakes.
Davide said when he campaigned for governor in 2010, he never took up the issue of deaths in province-run hospital but instead campaigned for an end to oursourcing doctors and other medical staff in these facilities.
At present, the Capitol is hiring full-time doctors as regular staff in district hospitals although a large number of doctors still prefer to be retained as service contract workers.
“We are always concerned (about the deaths). We sympathize with the families who’ve lost loved ones there. But let’s try to really look into the facts,” he said.
The Capitol has been pressed to take steps to restore public trust in district and provincial hospitals in the wake of well-publicized cases of deaths of children and infants.
The Davide administration announced it is creating an ethics committee to monitor and improve the service in province-owned facilities as well as the reshuffling of chiefs of hospital.