No refusal of treatment

Good day!

Once and for all, please allow me to clarify the statement of John Venth de los Reyes, the son of Talisay City Mayor JVR. I will answer his allegation point by point and please let this letter see print in your newspaper in full so everyone will know.

1.) He questioned why I issued statements even if I was not present during the incident. As the OIC-Chief of Mandaue City Hospital, it is my responsibility to answer questions and issue statements based on facts and records.

2.) The incident happened on Dec. 28, 2013 at about 11 p.m. Being a Saturday, I was not working. That I was "on leave" as what he alleged is not true.

3.) When he and his friend, Salvee Vega arrived in the Emergency Room with one male accompanying, a nurse asked him: "Naunsa ni Sir?" The male accompanying answered "Sa Mabolo, duol sa Mabolo Church" contrary to what he claimed in the newspaper that the vehicular accident happened in Subangdaku. Based on the answers, they were referred to Cebu City Medical Center because the vehicular accident happened in Cebu City and they were both in stable conditions.

4.) They insisted to be treated first and then his girlfriend was heard saying: "Di man diay ta atimanon dinhi mobalhin na lang ta." The EP prioritizes patients. According to the nurse who attended to them John Venth had blisters in his right thigh and his girlfriend had reddening of her skin on her right thigh and both were in stable conditions. The only ER physician was in the process of admitting a patient who was in critical condition. They should have waited for their turn to be seen and treated by the ER physician.

5.) He said nothing was done to him and his girlfriend except the cutting of his shorts and the pants of his girlfriend by the nurse. Correct. That is all the nurse can do and will do to them. Nurses cannot and will not administer medications to any patient including them without the doctor's orders.

6.) There were two nurses were on duty in the ER. Another staff was called to leave the Triage in order to assist in the ER because it was full of patients. That "Dili mo minos sa unom ka nurses nga gatanga lang ga tan-aw sa amo" as what he alleged in this newspaper is not true. He could have mistaken other people in the ER as nurses.

7.) In the news story of Jan. 3, 2014 issue of this paper (on Page 4) he threatened to sue us. That should have been the first thing and the right thing for him to do instead of going directly to the newspaper and social media misleading everyone. But they cannot twist the fact that it was both their decision to leave the ER after ten to fifteen minutes to seek treatment elsewhere since they cannot wait for the ER doctor to attend to them who was at the time a few steps away from them attending to a patient with more pressing needs. That they were refused treatment in the ER is not true.

8.) The hospital that they went to is Mandaue City Hospital and Mandaue City Distric Hospital (MCDH) as what appeared in this paper (including past news stories in another newspaper).

9.) One of the parties who came at 3 a.m. of Dec. 29, 2013 asked the ER nurse why even Betadine was not applied on their burns. They should wait for the doctor's order and not dictate anyone on what to do aside from the fact that it was not the appropriate medication for burns.

10.) At first he claimed that the ER ran out of burn ointment but in the Jan. 3, 2014 issue of this newspaper he denied it. Any medication including burn ointment, if not available in the ER, can be and will be prescribed and can be bought from the drug stores the nearest of which is across the road.

11.) He alleged that the ER staff asked him for a police blotter. That is not true. No hospital staff will ask anyone for a police blotter prior to treatment. "Blotter" is the term we use to enter facts in our ER record book.

As a son of a Talisay City mayor, John Venth should stop his harassment and he should be responsible for his statement because he has misled a lot of people already. Mandaue City Hospital is here to serve and not refuse patients. If we refer patients to other hospitals there is a valid reason behind it.

Thank you for your time and Happy New Year.

(sgd.)

Maria Lourdes J. Espinoza, MD, MPA

OIC Chief of Hospital

Mandaue City Hospital