An 11-month-old baby died Monday in Pagadian City, Zamboanga del Sur, a province in the southern Philippines, after she was refused admission to a hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
Rebecca Iyas brought her 11-month-old daughter Chelsey Jane to the Pagadian City Mendero Hospital at noon on Monday to treat the child’s high fever. Chelsey was admitted to the pediatric ward but Iyas was told that her baby would need to be confined in the ICU.
Iyas told GMA News that the hospital refused to admit Chelsey to the ICU without a deposit of PHP10,000 (USD195). After gathering enough money for the deposit, the hospital then allegedly informed her that an additional PHP10,000 would be needed to cover the price of oxygen tanks that would be used.
Chelsey died Monday night before Iyas was able to pay for the additional fees.
In the same GMA News report, the hospital’s medical director said that they only ask for a deposit from patients who need to be admitted to the ICU. He also said that they sometimes waive the deposit fee for people who request it.
Helen Maño, the physician who attended to Chelsey, said she recommended to have the child moved to the ICU to better monitor her condition but also warned the the family that there was no guarantee her condition would improve.
“At that time, I said to them ‘I’ll be frank, even if we move her to the ICU, it is not 100 percent that the child will be saved, but the chances for her to survive will be higher,'” she said.
Earlier this month, President Rodrigo Duterte signed an amendment to the 1997 anti-hospital deposit law making it illegal for hospitals to demand payment for services in emergency situations.
The child’s grandmother said that they will only be able to bring Chelsy’s body home after paying for the hospital bill worth PHP10,732.15.
According to the law, ”any official, medical practitioner or employee of the hospital or medical clinic who violates the [law’s] provisions,” can face fines of no less than PHP100,000.00 (USD2,000) but not more than PHP300,000.00 (USD6,000).
Fines for hospitals or clinics caught violating the law has been increased from PHP100,000-500,000 to PHP500,000 (USD10,000) to PHP1 million (USD20,000).
The hospital’s administration has promised to investigate the incident.
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