Injured meters from an ER, rider died. City Council wants answers

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

ILOILO CITY – The alleged refusal of a private hospital in San Rafael, Mandurriao, to assist a road crash victim found injured a few meters from its emergency room has prompted the Iloilo City Council to investigate the emergency response protocols of hospitals in the city.

The incident, captured on video, showed a motorcycle delivery rider lying injured and bleeding on Dra. Rizalina V. Bernardo Avenue at around 4 a.m. on Aug. 27.

The victim, a 30-year-old resident of Barangay Tacas, Jaro, was reportedly unconscious but breathing when an overseas Filipino worker who witnessed the incident sought help from the nearby private hospital.

The witness repeatedly asked hospital personnel to assist the victim, but security guards and staff allegedly refused to bring out a stretcher or provide first aid.

They instead instructed the witness to call the Iloilo City Emergency Response, the city government’s emergency medical service, and the police.

The nearly five-minute video showed that the hospital had not attended to the victim by the end of the recording.

The witness then called ICER, which responded to the scene and contacted the victim’s family.

The victim was not admitted to the private hospital and was taken instead to the Western Visayas Medical Center, less than 4 kilometers away.

According to the family, they could not afford the cost of admission at the private hospital.

Western Visayas Medical Center is the Department of Health regional referral hospital for Western Visayas and receives most public emergency and trauma cases in Iloilo City.

The family confirmed that the victim succumbed to his injuries in the early morning of Aug. 29.

Councilor Sedfrey Cabaluna filed a resolution, approved Wednesday, Sept. 9, calling for an investigation in aid of legislation into the emergency response protocols of hospitals in the city.

The matter has been referred to the Committee on Health.

Cabaluna said the situation raises concerns because even with ICER responders stationed at care centers across the city, travel time adds to the period before a victim receives medical attention.

“Every minute matters during an emergency,” Cabaluna said, noting that delays in providing assistance could mean the difference between life and death in cases where immediate intervention could save a victim.

He also raised concerns over reports that some hospital emergency rooms refuse patients endorsed by ICER, with some patients allegedly made to get off the ambulance and walk in so they could be treated as walk-in patients.

The Anti-Hospital Deposit Law, or Batas Pambansa Blg. 702, prohibits hospitals and medical clinics from demanding a deposit or advance payment as a precondition for administering basic emergency care.

Republic Act 8344 and, in 2017, Republic Act 10932 amended the statute, broadening the prohibition to cover the refusal or delay of emergency treatment and raising the penalties for violations.

Cabaluna said that when a hospital does not have the capability or facilities to provide definitive treatment, necessary emergency care should first be administered to stabilize the patient before transfer to an appropriate facility.

He stressed that his proposed investigation was not intended to single out or blame medical professionals but to determine whether clear and workable emergency response protocols are in place.

“We are here not to point fingers. We are here to save lives,” Cabaluna said.

He called on the Committee on Health to invite hospital administrators, the Department of Health Region 6, the Philippine National Police, ICER, and the City Health Office to discuss the issue and establish clearer coordination and response mechanisms.

Cabaluna said the city should also strengthen coordination between hospital emergency rooms and ICER to prevent delays in providing medical assistance and in accepting patients referred by emergency responders.

The councilor said the Aug. 27 incident should prompt the city to examine whether similar gaps exist in other hospitals and whether the issue involves response capability, personnel liability, hospital capacity, or other concerns.

“Accidents cannot always be avoided, but if you were given a choice of where to have an accident, you would surely choose to be in front of a hospital,” Cabaluna said.

Cabaluna also expressed intent to pass an ordinance requiring hospitals with adequate personnel and facilities to respond to emergencies within a specified distance of their premises, possibly 100 meters.

Under the proposal, trained emergency room personnel rather than security guards would serve as first responders.