DUMAGUETE CITY, Aug. 3 (PNA) -– Dr. Jess Cañete, special investigator of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) in Negros Oriental, on Monday announced he will seek the immediate suspension of a female doctor at the provincial hospital for her alleged offensive behavior that has sparked criticisms and a number of complaints against her.
This time, Dr. Cañete said he will go directly to the office of the governor and ask that the doctor be immediately suspended to avoid a repeat of previous complaints, formal or otherwise, regarding her handling of patients and/or their relatives.
The moves comes as the CHR begins looking into a fresh complaint against the lady doctor by a 61-year-old man from Bais City, Negros Oriental, who on Saturday sought Cañete’s help following what he claimed was an unfriendly encounter with her at the Negros Oriental Provincial Hospital (NOPH).
The complainant, Gelacio Balonio, of Barangay Mansangaban, Bais City, recounted to reporters Monday afternoon that around 8 a.m. of Saturday, he was at Room 3 of the Upper Annex Building of the hospital where his daughter, 35-year-old Mercy Roma, is confined, along with other patients sharing the said room.
According to Balonio, their primary doctor is a certain Dr. Borromeo who had to leave early due to some family matters and that the lady doctor took over and attended to his daughter, Mercy, who is said to have problems with her liver, among others.
Balonio recalled that the female doctor, after having seen her daughter, allegedly berated them for not having the patient undergo 2D Echo, an ultrasound test for the heart.
The father, who said they were not aware of such test, claimed that they did not get a request for it, which he said had apparently set the doctor off.
The doctor, who insisted the test recommendation was in the chart, allegedly told Roma that she cannot be cured of her illness, and if ever it did get better, it will still recur, Balonio added.
Balonio lamented that the doctor’s pronouncement of a recurring disease has led to her daughter losing hope, not eating anymore and wanting to go home.
He further said they had already sold their cattle and other belongings for her treatment and had already spent around P80,000 for the five days confinement at the hospital.
The CHR special investigator, who accompanied Balonio Monday afternoon, said he will be incorporating this latest complaint against the doctor in a previous one that had been filed before the Sangguniang Panlalawigan.
Because the other complaint has to undergo due process, Cañete said he hopes Gov. Degamo will act instead on his request to have the doctor suspended so she can no longer be in direct contact with the patients at the provincial hospital.
He said he had already cautioned provincial government officials against keeping her at the NOPH amidst a number of complaints raised against her, either with the CHR or even on air via some radio programs.
Cañete said he will nevertheless ask the lady doctor to submit her answer to Balonio’s complaint. (PNA)