Butuan hospital denies it turned away critically-ill child due to non-payment of deposit

Butuan Doctors' Hospital officials denied a deposit-first policy, in line with the incident that happened a month ago, where a 10-year-old girl named Jannary "Yanna" Chan passed away because she was allegedly denied admission after her family was not able to pay the full admission deposit of P30,000.

 

The issue took social media by storm as Tutz Salarda-Chan shared a photo of Yanna in the hospital, dated August 12, captioned by a narration of the alleged rejection of the hospital staff last July 15. Yanna died the next day at 3 a.m. due to congestive heart failure. 

 

In a press conference held on August 15, lawyer Rodolfo Ato and Purita Escobar, nursing director of Butuan Doctors Hospital, maintained that the hospital does not practice refusal of urgent medical care. 

 

“It is not the policy and practice of the hospital to refuse urgent medical care. Butuan Doctors' Hospital has always been committed to its mission of giving care to all patients, much more to the less privileged sector of the society,” said Escobar.

 

Moreover, a doctor was made available to take preliminary examinations in the ambulance.

 

However, according to the staff, the mother was not able to produce a referral from San Francisco Doctors' Hospital (SFDH), which was necessary for the admission as per the hospital's standard operating procedure. 

 

Yanna was previously admitted in SFDH in Agusan del Sur and was made to transfer in Butuan because they had complete equipment. 

 

She was noted to be stable and it was recommended that she be admitted for further examinations. The mother, however, chose to leave in her own discretion, according to Escobar. "Upon finding out the projected costs of treatment in our facility, the family decided to bring Yanna back to San Francisco Doctors’ Hospital."

 

According to the management, there was no discussion between the staff and the mother regarding downpayment. They do, however, have a policy of requesting downpayment upon admission.

 

Mrs. Chan reportedly left in a calm manner, not mentioning any discourteous treatment or refusal from any of the staff.

 

Contrary to Escobar's statement, Yanna's mother said she has the necessary referral papers and a medical certificate. Moreover, after demanding a sum of P30,000, the staff allegedly told her that Yanna's case is not an emergency.

 

After the alleged refusal, the family was forced to transfer Yanna to Davao, but she died in transit, according to Salarda-Chan.

 

The Butuan Doctors' Hospital is currently investigating the incident, and is requesting for understanding from the public. 

 

"We are appealing to the public to please allow us the time to conduct a thorough investigation. We also pledge our cooperation to the appropriate government bodies which may conduct their own investigations of this incident," said Escobar. —Bianca Rose Dabu/KG, GMA News