Parents mull lawsuit vs Butuan hospital over daughter’s death
PHOTO FROM Tutz Salarda-Chan’ Facebook Account
MANILA, Philippines—The parents of a 10-year-old girl is considering to file charges against a hospital in Butuan City that allegedly refused to admit their critically-ill child last month, leading to her death.
Tutz Saladra-Chan, in a phone interview with INQUIRER.net, said she and her husband would consult a lawyer regarding the possibility of filing a lawsuit against the Butuan City Doctors Hospital in Agusan del Norte.
“We need to talk to our lawyer,” she said.
Chan’s daughter Jannary Chan or “Yanna” passed away on July 16 from congestive heart failure after the hospital staff of Butuan City Doctors Hospital allegedly refused to admit the child because the Chans could not pay the full deposit of P30, 000 for the intensive care unit .
Chan said she even pleaded to the staff to admit Yanna due to her “emergency situation and critical condition’’ but her pleas fell on deaf ears.
Yanna was laid to rest on July 21.
Chan said she flew to Manila with her husband after their daughter was buried to forget about the “traumatic experience.”
Legal charges
Chan said they would fly back to Mindanao early next week to consult a lawyer and file the necessary charges against the hospital staff and its management.
Chan said the hospital has not exerted efforts to reach out to them.
“There were no efforts from the hospital to talk to us,” she said.
“We are 90 percent determined to file charges against the hospital,” she added.
According to Republic Act 8344, hospitals are prohibited to demand deposits or advance payments before administration of medical treatment in emergency cases.
Section 1 of the law states: “It shall be unlawful for any proprietor, president, director, manager or any other officer, and/or medical practitioner or employee of a hospital or medical clinic to request, solicit, demand or accept any deposit or any other form of advance payment as a prerequisite for confinement or medical treatment of a patient in such hospital or medical clinic or to refuse to administer medical treatment and support as dictated by good practice of medicine to prevent death or permanent disability.”
What the DOH says
The Department of Health stressed that no person seeking medical help should be turned away by any hospital, whether government or private, especially on emergency cases.
Health Undersecretary Ted Herbosa said he has ordered an investigation to look into the death of Yanna.
Dr. Glenn Tiangha of the DOH Licensing, and Enforcement Division of Region 13, said the agency would investigate the incident once a formal complaint is filed by the Chan family.
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