The Philippine Children’s Medical Center on Quezon Avenue in Quezon City. (File photo from Philippine Daily Inquirer)
The Philippine Children’s Medical Center (PCMC) management on Friday denied reports that they refused admission of a severe dengue patient, citing records to prove that the sick person did not go to their hospital.
PCMC Executive Director Dr. Julius Lecciones said in a statement that their investigation on the purported incident indicates that even employees, including security personnel, never saw the patient in their facility.
“It was reported (on October 3) in a TV network that the patient who died of severe dengue last 26 September 2018 at the East Avenue Medical Center was denied admission when she consulted PCMC the night before,” Lecciones said.
“We investigated the veracity of this report and found no record of this patient consulting with us on the dates alleged. We also interviewed all our healthcare workers who confirmed that they did not see this patient,” he added.
In an interview with DZMM on October 3, Juliene Fernandez, mother of the dengue patient, said that PCMC denied her daughter’s admission to the hospital allegedly because of lack of spaces for new patients. Fernandez also claimed that her daughter was vaccinated with Dengvaxia.
“Tinanggihan po ako […] binigay ko po kasi ‘yong referral po para i-admit po doon, ang sabi nila po wala na raw pong bakante,” Fernandez said.
“Sabi ko masakit na po ‘yong tyan ng anak ko, eh wala daw po, sa iba na lang daw po kami,” she added.
Lecciones asserted that it is not in PCMC’s policy to deny admission of patients.
“The hospital has a policy of not refusing any patient, and particularly so if it is an emergency situation. We remain dedicated to our duty as public healthcare workers to serve all patients, and we will continue to do so,” he said.
He, nevertheless, asked the patient’s family to talk to them to help them shed light on this controversy. He assured that appropriate actions will be imposed against employees should they be found to have indeed committed such misstep.
“We still urge the parent of the patient who died to communicate with us to identify where and with whom they consulted in our hospital. If the allegation is indeed true, the appropriate measures and sanctions to erring employees are warranted according to established rules and regulations,” Lecciones said.
“It is however lamentable if the accusations are untrue because it potentially destroys the reputation of our healthcare workers and the good image of our institution,” he added. /kga