THE Department of Health (DOH) Central Visayas asked the St. Anthony Mother and Child Hospital (SAMCH) to submit an incident report involving the death of an eight-month-old boy last June 7.
Harry Morgan Visaya died of severe dehydration and diarrhea.
“The hospital is given 72 hours to submit its incident report,” said Dr. Jaime Bernadas, DOH 7 director. The order was sent to the hospital yesterday morning.
Bernadas said that upon receiving the letter-complaint from Harry Morgan’s family last Monday, he activated the investigation committee to start a fact-finding inquiry on the alleged incident.
Dr. Sophia Mancao, who heads DOH 7’s Regulation and Licensing Division, will lead the probe.
Planning
“We will also reply officially to the letter-complaint. The fact-finding committee will meet immediately for planning, and start with the incident and the letter-complaint,” said Bernadas.
In a separate interview, Marifhe Ylaya, Harry Morgan’s mother, told reporters she was grateful that the DOH 7 has responded to the family’s letter-complaint.
She hopes that the health department can help shed light on the matter so that the death of her son will be given justice.
Last Monday, Marifhe and her live-in partner Haryl Visaya filed the complaint against SAMCH before the DOH 7.
The complaint was filed after Harry Morgan died at the SAMCH. The boy was confined at the hospital for almost a week for vomiting and diarrhea.
Harry Morgan’s family claimed that doctors and medical personnel at SAMCH failed to rehydrate the boy. They also claimed that one of the boy’s doctors failed to immediately transfer him to a private tertiary-level hospital despite the reportedly worsening condition of the child.
Aside from the hospital, the family’s lawyer also considered filing separate charges against the doctors.