Hospital denies rejecting pregnant woman who had not been swab tested

The Rogaciano M. Mercado Memorial Hospital in Sta. Maria, Bulacan on Tuesday denied turning away a pregnant woman who was about to give birth due to a lack of a swab test result.

According to a report on “Balitanghali,” the hospital said that Emmalyn Magallañes experienced precipitous labor or the sudden opening of the cervix as she was on her way to undergo tests.

“Kaya sa may Employees’ Entrance sa loob ng hospital compound siya nahiga at dito naglabas ng bata bandang 10:20 a.m.,” it said in a statement.

(Because of this, she gave birth at the employee’s entrance within the hospital compound at 10:20 a.m.)

The on-duty doctor requested the patient undergo tests such as the RT-PCR, antigen test, and chest x-ray in the same hospital. Before this, the doctor observed that Magallañes was going into labor.

According to the hospital, Magallañes' condition was immediately reported to the staff on duty and she was brought to the OB Department.

“Lahat ng nararapat na atensyon medical ay naibigay sa mag-ina kabilang na ang Post-partum Maternal Care, Cord Care, BCG, at Hepatitis B Vaccination sa sanggol, at Newborn Screening,” it said.

(We gave all the appropriate attention to the patient, including Post-partum Maternal Care, Cord Care, BCG, Hepatitis B Vaccination for the child, and newborn screening.)

The hospital said it was shocked by the couple’s claim that they were rejected due to the lack of a swab test result.

“Kaya po laking gulat naming nang mag-issue silang mag-partner ng statement… na taliwas sa nangyari at malayo sa isinilaysay ng pasyente sa video at hand written statement niya,” it said.

(This is why we were shocked when they issued a statement that is contradictory to what happened.)

“Naglabas ng post sa Facebook ang kapitbay diumano ng pasyente na lubhang mali at nakakasama sa pangalan ng ating pagamutan,” it added.

(Their neighbor also supposedly posted on Facebook about the incident which is false and is bad for the hospital’s reputation.)

The hospital urged the couple to correct their statements. — DVM, GMA News