Woman dies after being refused by 6 hospitals

MANILA, Philippines — A woman who gave birth died of blood loss on Friday after being turned away by six hospitals.

Jan Christian Bulatao, a resident of Barangay 183, yesterday told The STAR of the grueling five-hour ordeal with his wife as they looked for a hospital to admit her after she gave birth in their Caloocan home.

Bulatao’s wife needed an operation to remove the placenta from her uterus. 

While they were admitted by the North Caloocan Doctors Hospital, they were referred to the nearby Commonwealth Hospital and Medical Center because the Caloocan hospital does not have a supply of blood, Bulatao said.

The private hospital also turned them away due to a lack of rooms and the cases of coronavirus disease 2019 there, he added.

They had to go all the way to the Far Eastern University (FEU) Hospital in Fairview, where they were reportedly asked to give a downpayment of P30,000. 

“They even charged us for the parking,” Bulatao said.

Under the anti-hospital deposit law, hospitals are prohibited from refusing and demanding downpayment from patients.

Bulatao said they were also asked to pay P4,000 for the personal protective equipment to be worn by the FEU Hospital staff.

They went to the Bermudez Polymedic Hospital in Caloocan but were told the hospital has no equipment for the operation. 

They went all the way to San Jose del Monte, Bulacan, but the Skyline Hospital and Medical Center and Grace General Hospital did not have an obstetrician available.

When they arrived at the San Jose del Monte General Hospital - the only hospital not to turn them away - his wife was declared dead on arrival.

“The hospitals had a lot of reasons for not admitting my wife. Some hospitals did not even check my wife’s vital signs,” Bulatao said.

“I also blame myself. I did not have the cash when the FEU Hospital asked for a downpayment. The trip from the FEU Hospital to Bulacan took two hours. My wife lost a lot of blood,” he added.

He hoped the government would help his family in filing a complaint against the hospitals that refused to assist his wife during the enhanced community quarantine.

President Duterte has warned hospitals against turning away patients during the quarantine.