V. Sotto Medical Surgery Spectacle

[stampAcrete]

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Unsa punishments ang na implement para sa hospital staffs?

[Princess08]

ka louy sa gay sa?? tao sad baya na!

-princess-

[yacky2006]

BLACK SUEDE SCANDAL

5 DOCS, NURSE SUSPENDED

Source: Cebu Daily News | Cebu's Only Independent Newspaper

Justice at last.

Danilo finally got what he hoped for,

over two years after he was widely

ridiculed when his rectal operation was posted on the Internet.

The Office of the Ombudsman in the Visayas found five doctors and a nurse of the government-run Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) guilty of misconduct and ordered them suspended from one to six months because of inappropriate behavior during the Jan. 3, 2008 surgery to remove a can of spray perfume that was stuck in the rectum of Danilo (not his real name).

A video of the procedure was posted in the video-sharing website YouTube and was passed around on cellphones.

The controversy was not just about the videotaping of the operation. It also because the video showed the doctors, nurses and medical students in the operating room were laughing, spraying the nozzle of the can and making fun of the patient who was unconscious.

Dr. Philipps Leo Arias, the surgeon in charge in the surgery, was held the most liable person for the incident and was ordered suspended for six months for “conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service,” said the Ombudsman ruling recently penned by lawyer Sarah Jo Vergara, graft investigation and prosecution officer of the case.

“Of most crucial liability is respondent Arias. As lead surgeon, the observance of fitting demeanor was supposed to be his call; but then, he ironically spearheaded the mischief and modeled for others to follow. His conduct made a mockery not only of the proper ethical standards and decorum for professional medical practitioners, but the code of ethics for public officials as well,” the decision said.

The anti-graft office also ordered suspended for one month Dr. Angelo Linawagan, assistant surgeon; Dr. Joanne Mae Merilles, resident anesthesiologist; Dr. Max Joseph Montecillo, medical officer; Dr. Joseph Alfred de Leon, assigned in documentation; and Carmenia Sapio, circulating nurse.

The five other medical practitioners were found guilty of “simple neglect of duty” and were meted the one-month suspension for failing to “restrain unauthorized presence and improper conduct during the medical procedure.”

The Ombudsman dismissed “for lack of sufficient evidence” the administrative charges against Dr. Marlowe Parreno, consultant; Dr. Serapio Salazar, consultant; Isabelita Remulta, operating room nurse supervisor; Consuelo Tecling, O.R nurse supervisor; Ida Sumayang, nurse-on call; and Rosemarie Villareal, nursing attendant II.

Vergara's decision was approved by Deputy Ombudsman for the Visayas Pelagio Apostol and Tanodbayan Merciditas Gutierrez.

“Over and above the concerned respondents' designated duties and functions are the basic legal tenets of public service. The dire consequences of the subject incident more than clearly established that they failed in abiding by these,” the decision said.

Aside from the administrative penalty, Arias and the five others are still facing a separate criminal investigation for violation of the Anti-graft and Corrupt Practices Act which is still pending before the Visayas Ombudsman.

The House of Representatives' committee on human rights also conducted an inquiry into the incident, which has become known as the “black suede” scandal, and has recommended that the medical staff involved in the surgery be held liable for violating the rights of the male patient who underwent a rectal operation for the removal of a can of spray perfume.

The Visayas Ombudsman said documents of the case were referred to the Professional Regulation Commission for “appropriate administrative action” concerning the respondents' standing as licensed professionals.

The Department of Health in Central Visayas (DOH-7) is expected to implement the penalties against Arias and the five others.

Lawyer Merlo Bagano, the legal counsel of Arias, has refused to comment on the anti-graft office’s decision when reached by telephone yesterday.

“I have not received an official order yet. I will comment later. I still have to talk about it with Doctor Arias,” Bagano said.

Lawyer Guiller Ceniza, the complainant's counsel, said they too had yet to receive a copy of the Ombudsman decision but he said they were happy with the development of the case. “At least the wheels of justice are running, though slow and yet to be completed,” Ceniza told .

He said they were hoping that the respondents would also be held liable for the criminal charges filed against them at the anti-graft office.

“Although the incident happened a long time ago, the development is still pleasing. (The decision of the anti-graft office proved that the complaint is valid),” Ceniza said.

Basak Pardo Barangay Captain David Tumulak, who helped Danilo bring the matter before the Ombudsman, was also elated with the ruling.

“This is a good sign. We are seeking justice even with the lapse of time. It seems that the issue has been forgotten. We will continue our efforts to assist him,” Tumulak said.

He said Danilo, who lives in his barangay, has been trying to live a normal life since the incident and has returned to his former job as a florist.

Overcoming his embarrassment, Danilo went to VSMMC on Jan. 3, 2008 and sought medical help to remove a can of spray that was stuck in his rectum following a night of *** with a stranger on New Year's eve.

Danilo’s ordeal would have been just one of those medical procedures that were normally protected from the prying public eye until it was uploaded on the Internet by one of medical persons who were videotaping the surgery. Danilo did not know that he was being viewed and ridiculed by thousands of YouTube viewers until he was told about it by Tumulak on April 11, 2008.

Arias later argued that the videotaping was done for documentation purposes.

But the Ombudsman noted that even if the complainant allowed the documentation of the procedure for “academic purposes,” Arias should have made sure that it was done in the right way and by the proper people.

“Not just anybody should be involved. For giving leeway to anyone around to take videos or pictures makes it all the more likely for the footage to be used for purposes other than medical research or reference,” Vergara said.

The respondents' said they didn’t know who uploaded he video and that the complainant's identity could not be ascertained solely on the basis of the video footage.

Vergara slammed the respondent's for such a line of defense saying the complainant might have been “agonizing to one's self-worth,” seeing his video posted on the Internet.

“Respondents should understand, however, that complainant's public humiliation is not only the adverse implication or consequence of the uploading of the video on the Internet. That (agonizing to one's self-worth) is damage beyond quantification which respondents cannot conveniently discount,” she said.

The failure of the respondents to preserve the well-being and confidentiality of the complainant, she said, has resulted in a demoralizing dissemination of a medical procedure they performed.

The anti-graft office noted a provision of Republic Act 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees which states that government employees “shall at all times respect the rights of others, and shall refrain from doing acts contrary to law, good morals, good customs, public policy, public safety and public interest.”

Being a “friend of man,” a physician should protect the best interest of the patient and attend to the latter “faithfully and conscientiously,” states a provision of the Code of Conduct of the Medical Profession in the Philippines.

A physician also has the responsibility “to respect the confidentiality of all information he acquires on the basis of professional capacity.”

In his statement submitted to the Ombudsman, Arias argued that the taking of a video during an operation was not illegal per se.

He said surgical documentation is a common practice to provide materials for future studies and reference. There is no existing hospital policy that prohibits the use of cellular phones or video devices inside the operating room, he added.

Arias said they sought Danilo's permission to document the procedure and that the complainant voluntarily agreed to their request.

He said the complainant should not have been identified had the latter did not come into the open and talk about the incident.

“If not for his public declaration, the people would never have known the procedure he had undergone. There is no basis then for the complainant to claim that he was terribly embarrassed because it was he himself who informed the public of his predicament,” Arias told the anti-graft office.

He said people were allowed to enter the operating room because the surgical procedure could not be considered risky, there being no surgical incisions made.

Arias said he ignored the people inside the operating room because he was concentrating on the procedure of removing the canister from the complainant's rectum.

He admitted spraying the canister towards the crowd after he removed it from the patient's rectum.

Arias said his actuations were just manifestations of his ju*****ion for conducting a successful procedure.

Since he was only a third year resident surgeon at that time, Arias said he was happy of having saved a life.

Spraying the contents of the canister, he said, would also determine whether or not it has leaked.

He said that had the canister leaked, they would have performed another medical procedure.

But the Ombudsman did not give credence to Arias' line of defense, and even called it “uncalled for.”

“This office is certain that to spray out the contents of the canister that had just been extracted from somebody's anus is far from tolerable,” Vergara said.

[peewee_toot]

hala! nabuhi ang thread!

mygani justice was properly served jd...

[cebulifer]

Mirisi ng mga doctors!!!

[peewee_toot]

^^hahaha. kwarta na!

[joan624]

hala naa lagi wa naapil dah nga kusug kaau ang tingog pag-video2x hmmmm

[peewee_toot]

^^kinsa mn na cya?

[Justice`Hugo]

Suspension is not a proper sanction for these medical practitioners. The sad fate that Maricar and Katrina suffered from those videos recorded by Hayden Kho is in equal footing with that of Danilo. Hence, they should suffer the same sanction given to Hayden Kho.

[peewee_toot]

^^mas uwaw gani ka hayden ky makita ang nawng...