‘Surgery scandal’ victim to sue hospital, medical team this week

MANILA, Philippines - Formal complaints will be filed within this week against doctors and nurses of the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) involved in the "surgery scandal," the victim's lawyer said on Wednesday. Lawyer Guiller Ceniza said they will be filing civil action suit against the VSMMC and its medical team involved in the surgery within the week. The lawyer, however, did not say the amount they would be asking for damages. “We are in the process of preparing the legal action for damages against the hospital and other medical practitioners involved. We’ll be filing this within the week," Ceniza said in a radio interview. The victim’s lawyer said that since they do not know the names of the 10 other people involved in the scandal, they are leaving it to the Ombudsman to demand the medical records from the hospital and eventually determine criminal culpability. In the interview, Ceniza also described as a "welcome development," the Department of Health's disclosure of the names of three doctors and two nurses involved in the operation. He also said based on information they have gathered so far, the head surgeon in the operation was a trainee at the VSMMC and should have been supervised by more senior doctors. “There are supposed to be consultants inside the operating room, because the head surgeon, Dr (Philips Leo) Arias was just a resident surgeon of the hospital. And I feel he was still under training at the hospital so supposed to be there should have been consultants present inside the operating to guide the surgical team," Ceniza said. “From what we have gathered, these consultants were not around. The investigating team formed by VSMMC should look into also," he added. In a related development, the Philippine Nursing Association president Leah Samaco-Pacquiz slammed the two nurses embroiled in the operation to remove a canister from the patient’s anus. “Iyon po ay mali. Mali po iyong ganun kasi dapat po kinonsider natin ang safety at pagkatao ng pasyente natin. So hindi po tama iyon (That was wrong. They should have considered the safety and the human rights of the patient. That was not right)," she said. - Mark Merueñas, GMANews.TV