Napulan wants case of 2 yr old comatose boy probed
First District Board Member Macario Napulan wants a full investigation on the case of a 2 year-old boy now in comatose condition.
Chairman of the Iloilo Sanggunian Panlalawigan's (SP) Committee on Health, Napulan told The News Today (TNT) he wants immediate answers on an at least three questions – What did really happen in last week's lip surgery in a medical mission facilitated by the Iloilo Provincial Government? Who stands to be liable in the condition of the boy? What can the SP do to prevent similar occurrences and regulate the conduct of medical missions here?
With efforts still underway to directly get hold of the boy's parents, Board Member Napulan, a physician himself by profession, decried what he said was a "major breach" in the medical mission.
Aged 2 years and 8 months, the boy hailed from Mina, Iloilo and now hanging for life at the Iloilo Doctors Hospital. Latest medical update, Board Member Napulan said, placed the boy still at Glascow Coma Scale 3, "the most critical… what we pray for is a miracle."
The breach, he added, was on the pre-operative procedure that supposedly established needed cardio-pulmonary clearance on chosen patients.
"They should have been very cautious especially because they are dealing with children... they know that but someone will testify that the boy left hospital premises that night. And the boy's father reportedly insisted that the surgery will still be done and apparently, the medical team allowed that," Board Member Napulan said. "The fact that there was a breach in the procedure, they should have outrightly disqualified him... highly unusual how they allowed it. Dapat kay may diperensya, wala na nila gindayon (Because something was not right, they should not have pushed through with the operation.)
For now Napulan will focus on liability issues while asking for guidelines that supposedly were in place prior and during the medical mission.
"Were the doctors licensed to practice here in the Philippines? Was permit secured from the Department of Health?," more questions now raised by Napulan.
The Iloilo Provincial Government spent a total of P722,665 for the medical mission team, bulk of which went to the freight charges of medical equipment, surgical supplies and medicines brought in. P120,800 went to the catering of one lunch and two snacks at the IPH alone while succeeding breakfast and dinner was pegged at P144,000.
In return though, the medical mission team reported over P21.6 million worth of surgical and medical supplies donated here.
American eye surgeon Dr. Kenneth Westfield and plastic surgeon Dr. Carl Williams were among the professionals of the group.