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Baby dies after hospital allegedly refused to admit her to ICU without deposit


A mother in Pagadian City, Zamboanga del Sur is blaming hospital authorities for her daughter's death after they allegedly refused to admit her daughter to their intensive care unit (ICU) unless they paid the deposit first.

Rebecca Iyas is demanding justice for the death of her one-month-old baby, blaming the management of the Pagadian City Mendero Hospital for her death, according to aMarisol Abdurahman's report on Unang Balita on Thursday.

Iyas said it was Monday noon when she took her daughter Chelsey Jane to the hospital because of high fever.

The report said Chelsey was confined in the pediatric ward when her attending physician advised Iyas to have her admitted to the ICU because of her precarious condition.

She was however advised to pay a P10,000 deposit first.

Iyas was able to raise the amount but the hospital required another P10,000 for the use of medical apparatuses like an oxygen tank.

Although Mrs. Iyas was able to raise the additional P10,000, she was too late to save her daughter. The baby had already died by the time she got to the hospital.

But the family's problems did not stop there. She was told that she would not be able to claim her daughter's remains unless she settled her outstanding bill of P10,732.15 first.

"Hindi kami papalabasin, sir, kapag hindi kami nakapagbayad ng bill. Temporary nga lang [may] Philhealth naman 'yung bata. [Pero] dapat daw i-full namin 'yung bayad na mahigit P10,000 para makauwi kami sa gabing 'yun. Ang bitbit kong P10,000 na para sa ICU, ibinayad ko na lang," said Adelaida Iyas, grandmother of the baby, in the local dialect.

Doctor Jaime Navaro, medical director of Pagadian City Mendero Hospital, explained that they do not require their patients to give an initial deposit unless the patient will be admitted to the ICU.

"Mula pa noon, ma-admit man ang pasyente, wala talagang deposit. 'Yun lang sa ICU, noon pa 'yan may ten thousand pero consumable 'yan. Magagamit 'yan pero case to case basis. Minsan, mapapakiusapan naman lalo na kapag nakikiusap sa amin," Navaro said.

Doctor Helen Maño, the attending physician of baby Chelsey, also defended her recommendation.

" [Sabi ko na] mas maganda malagay siya sa ICU para matutukan. Although that time sinabi ko sa kanila na kahit ilagay man natin sa ICU, hindi siya 100 percent na mase-save natin. At least the chance na makaka-survive siya kung mamo-monitor siya nang husto ay tataas ng kaunti," Maño said.

The administration of the hospital promised to conduct an investigation to find out if they were at fault. They also said they were willing to face the complaint of the Iyas family should they file one in court , the report said. —Akari Nakano/KG/KVD, GMA News

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