25 hospital staff face negligence rap over mother, infant death

By John Noel E. Herrera

Twenty-five staff of the West Visayas State University Medical Center (WVSU-MC) are facing accusations of negligence over the death of a mother and her newborn baby.

Ervin Tieso Jr. and his wife Mary Jane Prologo, parents of 20-year-old Shipy Mae Prologo, sued the hospital personnel for alleged violation of Article 365 of the Revised Penal Code as amended by Republic Acts No. 1760 and 10951 or the Imprudence and Negligence Resulting in Homicide.

Daily Guardian has reached out to WVSU-MC for comment but it has not responded as of this writing.

Atty. Mario Emilio Aportadera, legal counsel of the couple, explained that after they submitted the complaint last April 27, 2023 to the City Prosecutor’s Office, they were only able to file a case for one count of homicide as the infant still did not have a personality during that time.

“Technically, duha ni ang napatay pero waay pa kalab-ot 24 hours so waay pa personalidad ang bata nga lapsag. So, isa lang ka count sang homicide ang aton ginpasaka,” Atty. Aportadera said.

The Joint Complaint Affidavit of Prologo and Tieso stated that “for four hours, from 3 a.m. to 7 a.m. in the morning of April 13, 2023, the respondents as resident physicians, consultants, training officers, medical doctor and/or president of the WVSU-MC did not immediately attend to Shipy despite visible signs of severe blood loss.”

It added that the respondents “did not even empathize with family members by not giving updates on the condition of both mother and child from the moment Shipy was wheeled into the delivery room and/or operating room.”

“The only moments they talked to us were on the occasions to obtain our consent to stop resuscitation of the baby on 13 April 2023, and on Shipy 14 April 2023. This attitude added to our grief and pain over the loss of Shipy and her child,” part of the affidavit stated.

The complainants suspected that the negligence of the personnel to attend to the medical needs of the patients caused the deaths of Shipy and her child.

Atty. Aportadera stressed that another piece of evidence they obtained was the charge slip showing a doctor’s prescription for Oxytocin and Euromed dextrose for Shipy.

“May proweba kami nga nag-inject sang isa ka bulong nga Oxitocyn nga waay pa kagwa ang bata sa matris ni Shipy. Ma-connect namon kay certificate of death, Asphyxia or ginatawag nga daw ginkuga. Ti, ang epekto sang bulong (Oxitocyn), tanan man nga doctor kabalo nga ginapuga ya na ang matris,” Atty. Aportadera, who is also a medical doctor, explained.

The testimony stated that Shipy complained of severe abdominal pain on April 13, 2023 and was taken to the hospital due to bleeding.

Tieso, however, noted that prior to the abdominal pain and bleeding of his wife, the ultrasound taken on April 11 at the same hospital showed that the baby was normal and doing well.

The complainants added that from 3 a.m. on April 13, they were asking for help because Shipy was in severe pain and bleeding profusely, and it was only at around 4:30 a.m. when a “doctor in pink attended Shipy and ordered the start of IVF line and to inject oxytocin.”

At around 10:44 a.m. on April 13, the baby was declared dead as the staff could not revive the infant, while Shipy died at 1:22 p.m. on April 14 after a series of cardiac arrests.

“Nag-hirinibi kami. Ako nagpinsar nga kon indi sa pagpabaya sang mga doctors buhi si Shipy kag ang bata niya. Asta sang April 11 normal ang pagbusong sang bata ko. Naganubo dugo na, waay pa sila nag-atender kag ginpabay-an nila asta apat ka oras sa ER. Sa apat ka oras damo tani nahimu nga masalbar sila… Amo ina nga kasuhon na lang,” Shipy’s mother stated on her testimony.