CCMC personnel are facing termination for misdiagnosis

CEBU, Philippines - Medical staffs of the Cebu City Medical Center who attended to the 12-year-old dengue patient may be terminated from service if proven that the alleged misdiagnosis on the girl was true.

Councilor Christopher Alix, chairman of the City Council’s committee on health, said he will not sympathize with the medical personnel of the city-run hospital whatever may be the result of the investigation into the case.

Earlier, it was reported that a 12-year-old girl died due to dengue hemorrhagic fever last April 19 despite being brought early to the hospital for treatment.

The girl, a resident of Barangay Mambaling, succumbed to dengue hemorrhagic fever but a doctor at the CCMC allegedly diagnosed her as having only an acute tonsillitis. Nine days after the diagnosis, the girl died.

Mayor Tomas Osmeña was reportedly upset after learning that the patient died after she was misdiagnosed when brought to the CCMC out-patient department.

“Ang end result gyud ana is tangtangon kung mapamatud-an nga nagpabaya sa katungdanan,” Alix said referring to the personnel who attended to the patient.

It was learned that the girl was not required to undergo any blood test even if this service is being offered for free at the city hospital.

Osmeña had already requested for an in-house investigation by the Ombudsman Visayas to know what really happened.

But Dr. Myrna Go, CCMC chief, said the parents were advised to return the next day and have the girl undergo a complete blood count test. But the parents allegedly went to a private physician who gave the girl medication for abdominal pain.

As a result, her condition worsened and the girl died. Go said that had the parents returned, the child would have been given a blood test to verify her condition.

To serve suspected dengue patients better, Go said that starting today, the dengue fast lane would be transferred to the out patient department. But she reiterated that dengue patients were given priority pink slips so they could be attended to immediately. — Jasmin R. Uy and Elly Bolonos of Banat News/WAB   (THE FREEMAN)