As more condemn O.R. circus: Surgery patient may not file suit

The world is awaiting what emerges this week from an in-house investigation conducted by the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center on a medical procedure performed a few months ago that turned into a circus and drew widespread condemnation.

Among those waiting is the victim himself, whose legal recourse depends on what the hospital tells the public.

The government hospital has promised to make public the results of its investigation on Friday.

Subject of all the attention was a medical procedure to remove a deodorant cannister stuck in the rectum of a 39-year-old gay florist following a night of kinky sex last New Year’s Eve.

The procedure was recorded on video and eventually found its way around the globe after it was uploaded on the Internet video-sharing network YouTube.

But it was neither the embarrassing fate that befell the gay florist nor the global travel of the video that raised such a howl but the conduct of the surgical team inside the operating room during the procedure.

In the three-minute video, what appeared to be doctors and nurses, plus a surprising number of outsiders, were seen and heard laughing, shouting, making snide comments, and otherwise making fun of both the patient and his experience.

Still, perhaps on the advice of his lawyer, the gay florist, who did not know of the video until a friend showed it to him on his cellphone and who promptly went public only last week by threatening to sue those who humiliated him, appears to have wavered in taking legal action.

His lawyer, Guiller Ceniza, said it has been decided to stay all legal action until after the hospital makes public the results of its investigation.

Ceniza said if his client is satisfied by the results of the investigation, he may decide to forego taking legal action.

Besides, the lawyer said, the only legal action they can probably take is a civil suit for damages as the operation was successful and no lapses were committed in the actual medical procedure.

Ceniza said the violation only involves the right to privacy of the patient.

Ceniza, however, said the Integrated Bar of the Philippines has offered to help his client in determining what other possible violations may have been committed by the hospital and the medical personnel involved in case his client does decide to pursue legal action.

Groups of varying responsibilities and orientations have descended on the issue in shock and disbelief, all promising to take action.

The Office of the Ombudsman yesterday docketed the incident for a fact-finding inquiry, the facility being a government hospital and members of the surgical team government employees.

Assistant Ombudsman for the Visayas Virginia Palanca Santiago said the anti-graft office will facilitate the identification of the doctors, nurses and other personnel involved and look into their possible criminal and administrative liabilities.

The Ombudsman also wants to find out who owns the cellphone used to take the video footage of the operation and uploaded it on YouTube.

Santiago said her office will closely coordinate with the Professional Regulations Commission and the Department of Health, which are also separately looking into the incident.

Commission on Human Rights regional director Alejandro Alonso Jr., in a report on ABS-CBN, said members of the operating team committed a violation of ethics pertaining to the practice of their professions as well against the rights of the patient.

Department of Health regional director Susana Madarieta acknowledged that the team displayed improper conduct inside the operating room.

Both agencies are doing their own investigations.

Hospital administrator Gerardo Aquino assured the public the medical personnel who participated in the controversial procedure would be charged, including the person responsible for uploading the video on YouTube.

Philippine Medical Association national president Jose Sabili, also on ABS-CBN, said he despised the unethical behavior of the OR team.

The committee on tourism at the Cebu provincial board headed by board member Agnes Magpale also expressed dismay over the incident, fearing it would affect Capitol initiatives to promote medical tourism.

Magpale said something has to be done to rectify the perception spawned by the incident that the behavior of the OR team reflected the behavior of the entire medical industry in the province.

Even the Archdiocese of Cebu joined the fray, with archdiocesan media liaison officer Msgr. Achilles Dakay saying respect should be accorded to any patient regardless of status.

A non-government organization called Bisdak Pride also condemn the incident, saying in a faxed statement to The Freeman that the act of the medical personnel constituted a monstrous violation of human rights.

Roxanne Omega Doron, provincial coordinator of Bisdak Pride, said the incident exposed two issues — malpractice and deep bias toward the transgendered community. (/JST)