Sunday, April 20, 2008 Cabaero: Beyond the video posting By Nini B. Cabaero Beyond 30
THE scandal that hit the regional hospital had less to do with the worldwide distribution of the unauthorized video and more to do with how these government doctors regard their patient.
The incident where Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center medical staff made fun of a patient undergoing surgery for the removal of a canister from his rectum happened. This was caught on video by more than one camera that was brought inside the operating room at that time.
Even without the posting of the video on YouTube, the popular video-sharing website, there must have been some principles and rules that were already violated. What made the information known to thousands of individuals around the world and to the patient especially was the uploading of the video on YouTube and its downloading on several cellular phones and computers.
The damage to the dignity and rights of the patient was committed even if only one other person saw the video or witnessed the cheering and jeering that transpired inside the operating room.
So, it’s not so much about why and how the video of the incident was made and distributed. It was about a sedated patient being made fun of by a medical staff.
The condition of the patient was indeed rare and unusual. Seldom does a medical case like that happen where a foreign object is inserted into a man’s rectum. But remove the uniqueness of the situation, and you are left with a patient who is gay or has a different sexual preference and who is likely poor. Those who could afford it would prefer a private hospital over this government facility.
The hospital staff made fun of him because he had sought the services of a male sex worker and got instead “raped” with the use of a canister. They did not have second thoughts about letting other staff, including students, inside the room because the patient was not likely to sue them and did not bear a prominent or recognizable name.
This was why the Cebu Medical Society considered the hospital staff’s actions as “insensitive,” “indefensible,” a breach of the patient’s privacy and condemnable because the physician’s principal responsibility is the patient’s health and dignity.
It is not about the video-taking and the sharing of the clip to a worldwide audience. The incident has more to do with how the medical crew in attendance in that particular procedure looked upon the category of patients who seek medical help from a government facility.
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Still on YouTube. You may view the video on the hospital briefing to the press from the Sun.Star website. Go to www.sunstar.com.ph and click on the relevant text link. As of Friday night, there were three video clips available, uploaded to YouTube but linked from the Sun.Star website.
Also available on the site is the official statement of the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center where the surgical staff was commended (Yes, commended.) for the “expert” handling of the procedure.
