A man who was shot in the chest was given proper medical attention and was not neglected by attending personnel at the city-run Ospital ng Muntinlupa (Osmun) in Alabang, Mayor Ruffy Biazon said.
On April 22, Biazon personally went to the hospital after a netizen named Pamela posted a complaint on Facebook claiming “neglect of gunshot patient.”
The Ospital ng Muntinlupa in Alabang (Photo from Muntinlupa PIO)
Muntinlupa Mayor Ruffy Biazon doing a live broadcast on Facebook on April 24 (Screenshot from Mayor Biazon's video)
The man named John suffered a gunshot wound and was taken to Osmun for treatment.
In her post, Biazon said, San Jose said her cousin was “shot in the right side of the chest two days ago and still not received the urgent medical attention he desperately needs. Despite being admitted with a life-threatening injury, the bullet is still lodged in his chest and there appears to be no real sense of urgency or proper care provided to him.”
Because of this, Biazon personally went to Osmun to talk to the patient and the attending doctors about the patient’s situation.
According to Biazon, the doctors said a tube was inserted in the patient to drain the blood. The initial procedure was done to prevent the collapse of his lung, the mayor said.
The mayor said the doctors studied the patient’s situation before making a decision to operate on him.
On April 24, Biazon went live on Facebook and said the patient already underwent an operation and the bullet was removed from his chest.
He said he wanted to personally talk to Pamela regarding her complaint when he went to the hospital on April 22.
“Wala naman pala si Pamela doon nung siya ay nag-post. Iba yung nagbabantay ng pasyente. Nakausap ko ang pasyente (Pamela wasn’t there when she posted. Someone else was watching the patient. I spoke to the patient),” said Biazon.
Biazon said the medical personnel said they gave the patient immediate medical attention.
He said the 48 hours that passed without operating on the patient was not neglect but the procedure that needed to be done by the doctors.
From the emergency room, the patient was brought to a room as his condition became stable but the draining continued.
“Successful naman ang operation. Binalik na sa kwarto yung pasyente, si John, para mag-recover and soon, siya ho ay ire-release na. Safe and sound ang pasyente. Kung tutuusin nga, sa unang pagdating niya doon, kung talagang napabayaan siya, e malamang namatay na siya agad (The operation was successful. The patient, John, has returned to the room to recover and soon, he will be released. The patient is safe and sound. After all, when he first arrived there, if he was really neglected, he would have probably died immediately),” he said.
He added, “Sa pag-inquire natin sa situation ay wala naman hong neglect (When we inquired into the situation, there was no neglect).”
The mayor urged people that if they feel that a doctor or medical personnel committed neglect, they should file a formal complaint with Osmun or his office, or send a message to the Muntinlupa Helpdesk Facebook page to properly address any issue.
The police are also investigating the patient’s case as he was shot.
“Pag may taong nabaril, kailangan imbestigahan ng kapulisan yan (If someone was shot, the police need to investigate that),” he said.
The investigation will focus on how he was shot, who shot him and the type of firearm that was used.