The Senate committee on health and demography would look into the possible violations committed by two hospitals who refused to admit a woman who ended up giving birth inside a taxicab in Quezon City last week.
Senator Risa Hontiveros, chair of the Senate health panel said the incident would be included in the agenda at the second hearing of her bill that aims to strengthen Republic Act No. 8344, or the Anti-Hospital Deposit Law.
The law specifically prohibits hospitals from asking for deposits first before treating patients with emergency needs.
Based on the internal investigation conducted by Hontiveros’ office, a certain Aira Arellano was turned away by a public hospital in Caloocan City last January 11 after its staff allegedly assessed that she went into labor prematurely. The hospital’s staff said that they had no incubator for the baby.
Arellano went to the next nearest hospital but eventually gave birth inside a taxicab. Rescuers and media on the scene then brought her to a private hospital in Fairview, Quezon City.
But the attending staff allegedly only cut the umbilical cord of the infant and said that Arellano could not afford their fees, prompting them to transfer to the East Avenue Medical Center (EAMC). The EAMC staff that admitted Arellano and her infant said that she had a regular childbirth.
Based on these accounts, the senator said it is worth investigating if the hospital in Fairview, Quezon City, violated the Anti-Hospital Deposit Law, noting that both mother and child were victimized twice.
“She was a victim of a private hospital that refused to admit her because she couldn’t afford the deposit demanded of her, and a public hospital that lacked facilities,” Hontiveros said.
“We cannot tolerate hospitals denying mothers and their children health services in their time of urgent need. Where will our people go if they can’t get medical help from either public and private hospitals?” she pointed out.
The lawmaker vowed she would mobilize the resources of her committee to get to the bottom of this matter and coordinate with the Department of Health (DoH) to get an inventory of the facilities at public hospitals and determine legislative and budgetary interventions that can improve health services.
“No life should be unnecessarily put at risk, no person should be denied adequate and quality medical care just because they are poor and our government-run hospitals cannot adequately respond to their emergency medical needs,” Hontiveros stressed.
“We have heard this unfortunate story so many times already. It’s time we put an end to it,” she lamented.
(Hannah L. Torregoza)