PNP docs back Enrile transfer to better-equipped hospital

By: 10 years ago

Sen Juan Ponce Enrile on his way to Asian Eye Institute at Rockwell in Makati. JOAN BONDOC

MANILA, Philippines—Doctors at the Philippine National Police General Hospital on Friday supported recommendations to transfer Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile to a better-equipped hospital, citing his old age and the unpredictability of his health.

“It would be best if he is transferred immediately. Anything can happen,” said Chief Insp. Stanley Sevillano, the 90-year-old senator’s attending physician.

Sevillano and his colleagues at the police hospital supported recommendations that Enrile be confined in a tertiary hospital like the Philippine Heart Center or the National Kidney Transplant Institute.

Although Enrile is in stable condition since his confinement and surrender on July 4, Sevillano said he and his colleagues feared the worst could happen should Enrile be exposed to stressful situations.

In the past few days, he said monitoring showed Enrile had “normal blood pressure” and “normal heartbeat” and he was “conscious and coherent.”

Once, his blood pressure went up to 150/90 but this eventually stabilized, Sevillano said.

High risk of stroke

He said Enrile was at high risk for a stroke or cardiac arrest if he was exposed to extreme stress, “considering his old age and unpredictable health condition.”