Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center Fact-finding Committee Report: The Vaguest of the Century

I searched for updates on the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center fiasco and since I was specifically looking for the findings of the VSMMC fact-finding committee, I zeroed in on an article written by INQUIRER.net's Visayas Bureau Contributor Jhunex Napallacan.

Here are excerpts from Napallacan's article dated April 19:

The committee also recommended the issuance of a stern warning against one doctor and three nurse supervisors, who were advised to be more cautious in their performance of their duties as supervisors.

Asked why some medical staffers were only given a stern warning, Paradela explained that the each had a different level of participation.

He did not elaborate on the roles of the four.

The Vicente Sotto Memorial Center Fact-finding Committee, headed by Dr. Roque Anthony Paradela, is so obvious at attempting to downplay the unprofessional behavior of their erring OR staff that it is utterly disgusting. Geez, these blokes had the audacity to announce the completion of the preliminary investigation they conducted and conveniently forgot to include the facts in their report.

Even their recommendation that a 'stern warning' be issued to a doctor and three nurse supervisors is downright preposterous. A stern warning? Aw, c'mon, Dr. Paradela. You gotta be kidding me! Even nursing students who report late for clinical rotations receive waaayyy more than that.

The committee lauded the team for the successful operation on Danilo.

“In fact, this is the first case here in VSMMC. Although, we would like to commend the surgical team for expertly handling the manual extraction of the foreign body without going into an invasive procedure and without any complications,” the report said.

Good God! Dr. Roque Anthony Paradela and the members of the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center Fact-finding Committee are really confused. For some inexplicable reason, they think that the main objective of the committee is to showcase how successful the surgical operation was and perhaps receive loads of compliment for this 'medical milestone'.

Oh sure, the surgical team was brilliant but this isn't the right time to fish for compliments so you guys might as well stop distracting us. Because you totally suck at it.:)

Cebu Hospital YouTubeVideo Scandal: Another Hypocrite Speaks Up

I found this on GMANEWS.TV:

MANILA, Philippines - A Catholic priest on Wednesday said that the 39-year old man who underwent rectal surgery in Cebu should also accept part of the blame.

According to the priest who is based in Cebu, the patient's trouble started when he contacted an alleged call boy who then stuck a body spray canister up the man's rectum at the height of their sexual act.

“They seem to forget the whole thing. They are blaming the doctors for what they (did) but I think they should blame the guy for what they did," Monsignor Achilles Dakay, spokesman for Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, said.

Dakay's comment was aired over church-run Radio Veritas.

The patient had admitted in previous media interviews that he picked up a male prostitute. He said he was drunk when the incident happened in January.

He had an operation at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) to have the canister removed. However, doctors recorded the surgery and had fun doing it.

The video has been posted on YouTube.

Dakay said that while the church is not condemning homosexuals, it will not tolerate homosexual acts.

“They are made that way but if they did what is prohibited, that’s another thing," he added.

In the same interview, Dakay said that homosexuality is “prevalent" in Cebu, the province where the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan erected the country’s first Cross.

“We should be ashamed. It’s not just scandalous, (it’s) very shameful," he said, referring to the spread of the surgery video on the Internet.

Danton Remoto, co-founder of the gay group Ang Ladlad, earlier commented that the patient was victimized twice: first when the male prostitute inserted the canister inside his rectum, and second, when the video of the operation spread via YouTube.

Ang Ladlad, composed of gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender, sent a psychologist to Cebu to counsel the patient who is filing charges against the hospital’s medical team and were seen misbehaving during the procedure.

Remoto said Dakay comment towards the incident is "expected" because this is the Catholic Church's stand towards homosexuality.

"Msgr. Achilles was just reiterating the church's stand," he said.

Remoto reiterated his call to gay individuals to "be careful" when engaging in solicited sex.

"In the end, we are one with the Catholic Church," he said.

Wow, another shoo-in for the Religious Hypocrites Hall of Fame!

Maybe we have to remind this good Monsignor that this YouTube video scandal isn't about homosexuality and the evils behind it. The whole fiasco isn't about why a homosexual ended up with a canister inside his rectum but is about why the OR staff had fun at the expense of a helpless patient.

You should familiarize yourself with the patient's bill of rights, Monsignor.

Monsignor Achilles Dakay saying,"They seem to forget the whole thing. They are blaming the doctors for what they (did) but I think they should blame the guy for what they did", is reason enough for him to be disciplined by Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal. Where on earth can we find someone who actively represents God say such things about a victim of abuse?

If Monsignor Dakay is so opinionated about this scandalous video to the point of blaming the victim, then he should do a month-long documentary on Pope Benedict's recent visit to the United States. He should include facts like the Vatican spending more than $2 billion in settlements to victims of sexual abuse in the United States and the Pope APOLOGIZING to victims of sexual abuse. Surely this very prejudiced Monsignor knows that in the United States alone more than 5,000 priests have been accused of pedophilia and sexual abuse.

If this bigot of a Monsignor cannot even speak about the 'filth' within the Roman Catholic Church, then he has no business commenting on the scandalous video. Because nothing is more scandalous than priests molesting children.

Get down from your high horse, Monsignor. Or better yet, just shut up!

By the way, I am a Roman Catholic so spare me the religious blah-blah.

Docs, Nurses in Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center Fiasco Identified

This just in from GMANews.TV:

(Updated 3:30 p.m.) MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Health (DOH) on Tuesday identified five of the 15 members of the medical staff in Cebu City who may face charges for their misconduct during an operation to remove a perfume canister from a patient’s anus.

QTV’s Balitanghali reported that the three doctors and two nurses of the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) who were involved in the Cebu "surgery scandal" are:

• Dr. Philips Leo Arias, head surgeon;
• Dr. Angelo Alinawagan, assisting surgeon;
• Dr. Max Joseph Montecillo, surgeon at an adjacent operating table;
• Nursing attendant Rosemarie Villareal; and
• Circulating nurse Carmiña Sapio.

The five, along with 10 others, will be facing administrative, civil, and criminal charges for their involvement in the scandal.

The Health Department said that though remaining unidentified, some of the 10 others were nursing interns, who will likewise be facing charges.

The report noted that administrative cases have yet to be filed against the members of the team, pending a show-cause order for them to defend their side and explain why charges should not be lodged against them.

Consequently, no preventive measures have so far been imposed since there are no charges filed yet.

The medical team’s arguments will be examined before a preliminary investigation is set in motion by a hearing committee to be formed by the Health Department, the television report added.

The 39-year-old victim in the said scandal has previously vowed to lodge civil and criminal complaints against the medical team.

A report from Iglesia ni Cristo-run radio dzEC said Tuesday that the victim had already submitted an affidavit to the Office of the Ombudsman for the Visayas detailing how the doctors and nurses ridiculed him in connection to his surgery.

The DOH said it will also forward the results of its investigation to the Professional Regulation Commission, which will ultimately deliberate on whether or not to revoke the licenses of the doctors and nurses involved.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said they will review the findings submitted by the regional heath office in Central Visayas to determine what sanctions they would impose against the accused medical practitioners, especially after the said regional office upheld the results of the VSMMC fact-finding team finding probable cause for the filing of administrative charges.

But the QTV report said that at this stage of the investigation, they see the medical staff as committing violations like simple neglect and grave misconduct.

In particular, the DOH said the medical team violated hospital surgery protocols when the operation was recorded on video without consent and when the medical team displayed disrespect with a patient, especially one who was under general anesthesia.

For her part, Central Visayas regional health director Susana Madarieta quoted VSMMC officials as defending the members of the medical team, saying their reaction was allegedly the result of a sudden outburst of emotion due to the ‘success’ of the operation.

“They were so ecstatic when they were able to successfully extract the object but they were not anymore aware of what was happening around, that people were already taking videos and everything because of the successful operation," Madarieta said.

But still Madarieta said they are wont not to tolerate such behavior, adding “The reaction was very excessive also."

In a separate dzEC report, Madarieta said he was able to speak to some of the members of the medical team, who she added appeared “remorseful" for the act. But Madarieta admitted that they are still trying to identify who uploaded the 2:54-minute video of the operation on the Internet. She said they suspect a medical student was the likely culprit.

Duque III expressed disappointment over the incident, saying that it could have become a “good and ideal" sample case for future medical studies but instead turned shameful.

The VSMMC Officials are either blind, ignorant, or plain stupid in trying to downplay everything that happened inside that operating room. I watched the video and the offenders' reactions were not a simple case of being ecstatic because they were successful in extracting the foreign object. Even before this happened, the head surgeon said in a very loud voice, "Okay...documenting." Somebody even leaned over the sterile field to take a video. So what was that crap about the surgical team not being aware that people were already taking videos? They even made sure that everything, including the brand stamped on the extracted canister, was recorded for future reference.

Shameless whitewashing.

Still, I am glad that they finally had the decency to name the erring doctors and nurses but methinks the headcount is inaccurate. I watched the video and more than 15 people took part in the merriment. If there were nursing students inside the room that time, then by all means, their clinical instructor should be charged as well.

Wassup, Doc?

My shoulders and arms hurt once again. Meaning, my tendinitis is back with a vengeance. Suffering from pain, I can't help but remember that 3-day stint at a local hospital last January.

I was brought to the hospital due to severe back and neck pain. Shucks, I couldn't even pull myself out of bed. Imagine a robot, that, I was. Anyway, my attending physician suspected arthritis so I was referred to a rheumatologist for co-management. So I waited and waited. To my chagrin, no doctor showed up. Not even a resident. I remember asking the nurse if the rheumatologist was informed that a patient in severe pain has requested his services and was told that the message was relayed a couple of times. On the third uneventful day, my attending physician sent me home with pain medications. I was then advised to see the rheumatologist for an outpatient consultation.

Of course, I never did. I hated the fact that he kept me waiting without bothering to notify the nurses that he wasn't even remotely interested in my case while he did his rounds and attended to patients with far more complicated cases like SLE and Rheumatoid Arthritis. Of course this is pretty much explainable. The more complicated a medical condition is, the higher the professional fee. That simple. You don't need a Ph.D. in Research to figure that out.

My case in not an isolated case. I know of a doctor who pushed expensive surgical procedures within a few minutes of seeing a patient for the first time. The patient complained of shooting leg pain and spinal surgery is to be scheduled ASAP. And when he realized that he wasn't going to get what he oh-so-desperately wanted, he lost interest, never visited the patient again. And yes, you guessed it right, he had the audacity to charge an exorbitant professional fee when the hospital bill arrived.

But the thing is, in Philippine hospitals, the physician is likened to a lion, the king of the jungle, the leader of the pack. No one dares to point out his mistakes, make him realize how despicable he is, and remind him that inasmuch as he wants to, he cannot play God.

Tsk, tsk. So delusional.

New Life, New Face

Hi. I just got back from a 5-day hiatus. I was not on vacation but I took a long break from blogging to mourn the death of a family member. Very sad, really. But alas, I have to move on with this accidental existence I call life and pick up the pieces where I left them.

Surprisingly, the moment I decided to get busy, I realized that this blog has been given the makeover by a very meddlesome friend who likes to think of himself as a very techie good samaritan. Apparently, this friend thinks that the old template I was using (Tic Tac Blue) was pathetically plain and uninteresting. Not bad for somebody who used the much even plainer version (Tic Tac) in his blog for two straight years before he threw caution to the wind and be flamboyant in his layout choices. Tee-hee!

Before really stupid accidental readers completely misunderstand this blog entry, I think I have to say that I am appreciative of this friend's efforts to improve this blog. He constantly gives me new ideas, solicited or otherwise. I don't know what I'll do without him, really.

I think this is all for now. I'm kinda beat from a 12-hour sleep. Just have to rest a bit:)

Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center Staff In Hot Water

A very good friend emailed me this very chunky piece of nursing-related news from Inquirer.net:

Six doctors and several nurses and staff of a government-run hospital here were being investigated after they were linked to video footage of a surgical team apparently making fun of a patient during operation.

The video was uploaded to YouTube and circulated through mobile phones.

The video, taken last January 3, was of a male patient who was undergoing an operation at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) to take out a perfume canister that had been inserted into his rectum by a male sex partner on New Year's Eve.

The video ran for at least two minutes and 28 seconds and showed how the operating team of more than 10 people extracted the canned body spray from the patient's rectum as some laughed and cheered when the "baby" was pulled out. The video is no longer available on YouTube.

VSMMC spokesperson Dr. Emmanuel Gines said the hospital created a team, composed of doctors and administrative officers, to conduct an investigation.

Gines, however, refused to identify the members of the investigation team and the medical staff under investigation.

He added that the results of the investigation would come out late this week or early next week and the team's recommendations would be subject to the approval of VSMMC medical director Gerardo Aquino.

Gines said the hospital also forwarded the case to the Cebu Medical Society.

The medical staff involved in the incident continue to report for duty, according to Gines.

Gines also apologized to the patient but the patient has decided to file a complaint against the medical staff.

Dave Tumulak, village chairman of Basak Pardo in Cebu City, said the patient would file criminal and administrative charges for violation of several provisions of the Patients Bill of Rights against those involved in the January 3 surgery.

Tumulak, who is assisting the patient, explained that the patient had been badly affected and has seldom left his house since many people in the village knew of the incident.

He said the patient would also sue the VSMMC medical director.

The Philippine Daily Inquirer tried calling Aquino's cell phone but he was not answering calls.

Tumulak said the patient hired the services of lawyer Guiller Ceniza to assist him in the preparation of charges.

However, he said, they had yet to identify the persons involved in the taking of the footage since the hospital management refused to cite names.

Tumulak urged the VSMMC management to open their records of the operation conducted January 3 so they could get the names of those involved.

Meanwhile, Gines acknowledged the need to strengthen hospital policies on the use of mobile phones with or without cameras inside the operating room and other areas of the hospital.

C'mon, guys. Don't be too harsh on these doctors and nurses. They were just having too much of a good time, perhaps merely horsing around while performing a surgical procedure. What's wrong with violating the patient's right to privacy and confidentiality if your ultimate goal is to produce another YouTube phenomenon? If the Dancing Inmates of Cebu made it to the Time Magazine's 10 Most Watched Internet Videos for 2007, why can't they for this year?

Surely, these fun-loving doctors and nurses do not deserve our baseless criticisms. As patient advocates, they deserve more than that. What each of these guys deserve is a hug canister of hair spray shoved up their @ss!

Geez, what were they thinking?

Am I Leaving For Hainan?

I almost accepted a job offer to work as a nursing/caregiving lecturer in Haikou City, Hainan. After some really serious thought and consideration, I decided to decline the offer and pass up the chance for various reasons.

Working in the Hawaii of China would have been a great opportunity for me to be independent once again but it just didn't feel right. First, the remuneration and benefits package is not tempting enough. Second, less than a month's notice is just too much for me. And lastly, the contract is good for twelve (12) whole months--I was expecting the sojourn to be as short as six months.

Giving it a lot of thought, I believe I made the right decision. I am comfortable with what I am doing right now and whatever salary I might've pocketed if I pursued that teaching post in Haikou City, I would certainly earn here in the Philippines.

For those who think that I simply chickened out, I did not. I was just smart enough to think of things far more important than a challenging job or a timely change of environemt. While working in a tropical paradise would've been mecca for some, I give prime importance to matters of personal safety and value of one's own capability.

It's TIME for Duty

I came across this cutesy watch that will make a perfect gift for your favorite FEMALE nurse. In my case: myself! Not that I will definitely get one but at least I have a new entry in my wishlist. Hehe:P

This adorable silver watch comes with miniature charms like a stethoscope, nursing cap, and that heart which promises a lot of TLC. The leather strap is in powder blue and will fit wrists up to 8" in diameter.

Whimsical watches and other nursing-related gift items are available at TopLineGifts.Com. They have wrist watches, pendant timepieces , pins, pendants, and charm bracelets perfect for you (if you are a girl, that is) or your favorite female nurse.

The Battle Hasn't Even Begun Yet

Admit it. You are giddy because you graduated with a bachelor' degree in Nursing. You can't help but wonder if your parents are proud that you will become a nurse in no time and will be earning a salary high enough to make you and your whole family (and i mean the whole extended lot) comfortable.

I hate to burst your bubble but you have to pull yourself out of that miserable stupor. So you think that by graduating you have won your victory, eh? Get real. The battle hasn't even begun yet.

You might be reliving the ceremony over and over. You know, scenes like the dean handing you your diploma and someone probably dignified helping you with your gold-plated nursing pin. You probably are ecstatic as you try to remember everything. Worse, you probably allowed your parents to pay for that expensive class ring. Quite hilarious, really. I find it really hilarious thinking that someone actually assumed that the moment you look like a penguin with diploma in tow, life will all be molasses and honey.

Congratulations, graduate. You have finally entered that phase in your life in which you will realize that nursing school didn't even prepare you for what lies ahead. Go on, find the most expensive review center thinking that it makes the difference. Brag that the school you graduated from is one of the top-performing nursing schools in your region, even in the whole country. Think that since you landed a spot in the dean's list for four straight semesters you are definitely smarter than the rest. Well, if you really think that, think again.

You just might find yourself not concentrating on your review classes because you have to accomplish the necessary requirements for you to be able to take the nursing licensure exam. You just might have a hard time catching up as your lecturers fast-track everything because, after all, you are attending review classes and they are under the assumption that your clinical instructors were conscientious enough to even take their jobs seriously. Lastly, you just might find yourself getting really low scores during your mock board exams. Quite embarassing for somebody who graduated from an upper-tier nursing school claiming to provide quality nursing education to their students.

I am not trying to play the devil's advocate here and actually influence you to go on a very drastic career shift. This is just a painful reminder to those who actually think that manna will fall from heaven and lucky are those who have BSN's attached to their names for they will be the first ones to have their fill. This is a reminder for you to leave that irrelevant dean's list behind, forget your alma mater for a while, and actually study from scratch.

And whatever you do, do not predict that you are finally a registered nurse minutes after taking the licensure exam. Only stupid people do that.

So you totally hate me now. Go on, suit yourself. Be full of yourself. But don't blame me if you took the boards, got the copy of the paper the morning the list of successful nurses are published, only to find out that your name is not on that list.

Really, graduate. No matter who you are, what school you graduated from, how popular your review center may be, or how hard you studied for the board exams, you have to prepare yourself for the worst.

Because, my dear graduate, in this cycle we call life, we don't always come full circle. Shit actually happens. By that, I mean you just might have to be spunky enough to take the nursing licensure exam again.

Away On Vacation

More like procrastinating. Please be back in a couple of days. Tee-hee!