Hospital negligence alleged in death of 3-year-old boy

Family of three-yearold boy thinks medical negligence contributed to boy’s death; official orders probe on incident

The dengue virus took the life of James Francis Gulfan and prevented his family from celebrating what would have been his fourth birthday on Friday, Dec. 7.

His aunt Arlene Manipis Reigo, however, said they believed that a negligent doctor at the Cebu Provincial Hospital (CPH)-Danao City contributed to the boy’s untimely death last Nov. 29.

“Naglibog na gyod mi kon unsa gyod. Nawa ba siya kay gikuha sa Ginoo or ang way pakabana sa doctor. Ambot lang (We’re confused about what really happened. Was he gone because God took him away, or was it that the doctor was negligent? We don’t know),” she said.

Gulfan, 3, was the only child of couple Aireen Manipis, 24, and Dexter Gulfan, 29.

“Wa mi kasabot sa kamatayon sa among anak (We don’t understand our child’s death),” Manipis said.

Provincial Health Office Chief Dr. Rene Catan said he would launch a fact-finding investigation, assuring there would be no cover-up. The official also wants to know if Gulfan had been vaccinated with Dengvaxia before the latter succumbed to dengue fever.

He called CPH-Danao City Chief Dr. Prudencio Manubag to get details about the boy’s death.

Manubag said he would conduct an investigation. He issued on Tuesday, Dec. 4, a memo to five doctors who were able to handle the boy.

He said he would let the doctors explain their side. He also plans to meet Gulfan’s family in Barangay Poblacion, Carmen.

Before the boy died last Nov. 29, Reigo stated in her Facebook post, they had planned to transfer the boy to a private hospital because the boy had a low platelet count of 19 at 6 a.m.

But the nurse told the boy’s family that there were no vacancies in other hospitals and that they needed to deposit P5,000 to P10,000 in a hospital in Consolacion.

“At that time, naglisod na ang bata ug ginhawa. Naratul na mi pero ang doctor nagsige la’g kupot sa telepono. Nagrant na mi pero mura ra sila’g wala. Wa juy niasikaso sa bata para dad-on sa ambulansya. Kami ready to go na unta. Nisulirat na ang mata sa bata. Ddto pa sila nilihok. Gitabang na nila hangtud wala na gyud amo Franteet. Pagkawala sa bata, giingnan pa mi na dawata nalang ninyo, Maam (At that time, the boy already had a hard time breathing and we panicked, but the doctor was always on his phone. We ranted, but they didn’t seem to budge. No one was attending to the child so we could bring the boy to the ambulance since we were all ready. It was only when the boy’s eyeballs rolled that they acted and tried to save the boy until our Franteet was gone. When he died, they just told us that we should accept that he was gone),” a portion of Reigo’s Facebook post read.

No deposit required

In August last year, President Rodrigo Duterte signed Republic Act 10932, or the Anti-Hospital Deposit Law, which provides that “in emergency or serious cases, it shall be unlawful for any hospital or medical clinic to request, solicit, demand or accept any deposit or any other form of advance payment as prerequisite for administering basic emergency care, for confinement or medical treatment, or to refuse to administer medical treatment and support to any patient.”

The Department of Health also led the institution of dengue express lanes in private and public hospitals early this year.

Last Nov. 25, Gulfan’s parents woke up from a siesta only to discover that the boy had a high fever. They brought him to a folk doctor, but the fever did not subside.

The following day, Nov. 26, Gulfan was brought to a health center in Carmen. The parents were advised to get the boy’s complete blood count (CBC). After finding the boy’s platelet count was 242, the doctor told his parents to admit the boy to CPH-Danao City.

When they arrived at the hospital, medical staff reportedly refused to admit Gulfan, saying the boy’s platelet count was still high.

Another CBC test showed the boy’s platelet had dropped to 149. It further fell to 103 the same day.

The parents returned to CPH-Danao City twice, but the boy was not admitted on both occasions.

“On that day, giingnan nila ang doctor nga dili moinom ang bata og tubig, dili sad kaayo mokaon. So na worry na ang parents.Nihangyo sila na ipaadmit na ang bata ug dextrosesan pero giingan ra sila sa doctor, ‘Na way bakante ang ospital bisag magbarog pa ka maam wa gyoy lugar niya dextrosesan ang bata two hours puwede mustay sa hospital (they told the doctor that the boy’s appetite was down. The parents were worried. They asked that the boy be admitted and be given intravenous (IV) fluids, but the doctor just told them there was no vacancy even if they just stood up and that if they administered IV fluids, they needed to stay for hours),” Reigo wrote.

Aireen and Dexter brought their son to CPH-Danao City on Nov. 28. A doctor admitted the boy, but the latter’s platelet count had dipped to 69.

Reigo said they want justice for her nephew, whom she fondly called Franteet.

“Dili ing’ana kasayon dawaton ang iyang kamatayon kay kanang bataa ang happy pill sa among pamilya (It’s not easy to accept the death of that child because he was our family’s happy pill),” she said.