CEBU CITY—Health Secretary Francisco Duque III Thursday vowed to punish the doctors and nurses found to be involved in a rectal operation on a patient that exploded into a scandal after being shown on YouTube.

Duque said he was dismayed that the taking of pictures and videos was allowed during the operation at Cebu City’s Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) and that the patient was made fun of.

The operation was for the removal of a perfume canister that got stuck in the patient’s rectum after the patient said he had a sexual encounter with a male partner on New Year’s Eve.

The 39-year-old patient, a resident of Basak-Pardo, Cebu City, claimed he was drunk during the incident and he realized only the following morning that a foreign object had been left in his rectum.

He went to the government-run VSMMC, the largest government hospital in Central Visayas, and underwent the operation on Jan. 3. He said he was sedated and did not know that the procedure was being recorded with a cellular phone camera.

The video, which was uploaded on YouTube, showed over 10 people inside the operating room—cheering, jeering and making nasty gay jokes as the canister was pulled out of his body.

Duque said he was aghast at the spectacle and that the medical personnel in the room should be held liable for their actions.

“Of course, it was bad. Where can you find doctors that would allow the taking of pictures of patients that violate patient confidentiality,” Duque, speaking in Filipino, said over radio dyLA here. “Regardless of whom you did it to, it was very bad. It violates protocol. It’s prohibited.”

Only in some cases

Duque said the taking of pictures or videos during an operation was allowed in certain cases but the person taking the picture should not be allowed in the operating room.

“No one is allowed unless it is with the consent of the patient and for educational purposes. But even then, the photographer stays outside. You can only take a picture or video through the window. You cannot get inside the operating room,” he added.

Duque said he had ordered Central Visayas regional director Susana Madarieta and the Center for Health Development (CHD) regional office to conduct separate investigations.

Parallel probes

The management of VSMMC is expected to release its findings on Friday.

But Duque said the Department of Health would see if the investigation of the hospital jibed with the DOH probe.

Duque said the DOH would determine if there was a need to recommend the revocation of the licenses of those found to be involved. He said the sanctions would depend on the level of participation of the people in the operating room.

“We will look at the level of violation and level of involvement,” he said.

Duque said the patient should not feel intimidated and should stand up for his rights.

“We will help him. We will ensure he will get justice,” he said.

It depends

The patient’s lawyer said his client was just waiting for the findings of the hospital before deciding if he would press charges.

The lawyer, Guiller Ceniza, said he was also coordinating with the Integrated Bar of the Philippines to find out what criminal charges to file.

But Ceniza said that if the hospital would impose disciplinary actions against those involved, the patient might no longer pursue the case.

The Visayas Ombudsman has conducted a fact-finding inquiry into the incident.

Dr. Madarieta said a committee had been formed to review the findings of the hospital investigation.

Lesson for everyone

Madarieta told the Inquirer: “This is a lesson learned for everybody. We have to strictly implement hospital policies. This would not have happened if there was no laxity on the enforcement of policies in hospitals.”

“We are doing everything to ensure that this does not happen again,” Madarieta stressed. “It has to be clarified why the staff in the operating room reacted as they did.”

Madarieta said that there were instances in an operating room when the staff involved would “rejoice” if the surgery was a success.

“This was a rare case for medical study, which is one reason why the taking of video footage was, maybe, allowed. But disseminating the video is an entirely different matter,” she said.

Madarieta remarked that the incident might make some people needing surgery to shy away from an operation for fear that they might end up on the Internet.

Cameras banned

She said the VSMMC administration had already undertaken corrective measures, including the removal of the controversial video clip from the YouTube website.

The hospital has also issued a memorandum to all nursing students, doctors, and operating room staff reminding them of the prohibition against bringing cellular phones equipped with cameras and other video equipment inside the operating room, Madarieta said.