Cebu hospital to name docs in 'surgery scandal'

CEBU CITY, Philippines - Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center officials will announce Friday results of their investigation on the operation to remove a spray canister from a man's rectum. The operation last January 3 sparked controversy when a video clip, showing doctors and nurses laughing and giggling, was posted on YouTube, a video-sharing website. In the video, loud cheering and shouting can be heard during the operation. Someone then shouted "Baby out!" when the canister was removed. One of the medical staff then opened the perfumed canister and then started spraying its contents. While the Cebu Medical Society considered the actions in the video as "indefensible," they will wait for the results of a "multi-disciplinary fact-finding investigation being undertaken and the proper sanctions will be instituted promptly." "(We) condemn in the strongest possible terms the acts graphically portrayed in a video footage of a surgical procedure performed at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC)," the group said in a statement. It described the decorum of the personnel and other individuals shown as "insensitive" and "a breach of the patient's privacy." While the group members, led by Dr. Victoria Laspiñas, considered it an isolated case, they said the "physician's principal responsibility" is the protection of the patient's health and dignity. Philippine Nurses Association Cebu chapter vice-president Letlet Mission said the group is also waiting for results of the hospital's investigation so that they will know the extent of the involvement of the nurses concerned and be able to do something about it. Results of the probe will be disclosed Friday by the three-member investigating team in a press conference at the hospital's premises. The names of the doctors and nurses involved are also expected to be revealed. These medical practitioners are still working in the hospital, said VSMMC spokesperson Dr. Emmanuel Gines. Their sanctions, he added, will vary depending on their level of participation. During the press conference, Jan-Jan, the patient, plans to be outside the hospital to join the picket organized by Bayan Muna and the gay and lesbian community in Cebu. He also plans to personally meet with VSMMC chief Dr. Gerardo Aquino Friday to ask that they tell the truth. Basak-Pardo Barangay Captain Dave Tumulak disclosed that Jan-Jan decided to pursue his plan to file a case against the medical team in charge of his operation, regardless of what the results of the hospital's investigation will be. "He expected that there will be no cover-up in the results. He hopes that his doctors and nurses will lose their licenses," Tumulak said. Like the Cebu Medical Society, Department of Tourism Undersecretary Phenias Alburo considered Jan-Jan's case as isolated. "It won't matter. It is a very isolated case. It was more on mischief...When we talk of tourism, it is very broad. (What happened in the video) is like a one-in-a-million happening," he said in a phone interview. "Still, I am happy that the hospital is doing an investigation on the matter. I hope that with the proper sanctions, it won't happen again," he said. Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, in a radio dyLA interview, said the medical team should be sanctioned. He ordered an immediate, separate and comprehensive investigation led by Department of Health 7 director Susana Madarieta on the case. Duque said that the health agency can endorse the revocation of the licenses of the medical practitioners involved in the operation. He also asked Jan-Jan to stand up and fight for justice for what he went through. - Sun.Star