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.