Man Blames Phuket Hospital For Mother's Death

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Man blames Phuket hospital for mother's death

Phuket Gazette

Mr Narongphon (right) files a complaint at the Damrongtham Center. Photo: Warisa Temram

PHUKET: -- A complaint was filed today against the Phuket Provincial Administrative Organization (OrBorJor) Hospital for “unethical practices” leading to the death of his mother.

Narongphon Suwanmosee, 44, claims that hospital administrators allegedly refused to allow his mother to be transferred to Vachira Phuket Hospital for treatment for the sake of an outstanding 100,000 baht medical bill.

Mr Narongphon filed the complaint to Prapan Kanprasang, head of the Damrongtham Center (Ombusdman’s Office) today.

There to receive the complaint in person was Manop Leelasuthanon, the OrBorJor’s Chief Administrative Officer (Palad).

“My mother was admitted to the hospital for diabetic treatment. I spent at least 300,000 baht on treatment while she was in the hospital,” said Mr Narongphon.

His mother, Pa Khongjean, was 74 years old and admitted to the hospital on November 24, he said,

“On December 29, the hospital informed me that I had to pay an additional 100,000 baht as the final payment before they could transfer my mother to Vachira.

“They said they didn’t have the proper equipment to treat her. She was in the intensive-care unit [iCU] at the time,” he said.

Mr Narongphon’s request to pay 50,000 up front and the rest later, in order to expedite his mother’s transfer, was declined, he told the Phuket Gazette.

“They said that it was standard procedure for the hospital. If I can’t make the entire payment, then they can’t let my mother leave the hospital,” he added.

Mr Narongphon went on to explain that once the decision was made to make the transfer to Vachira, his mother was taken off the respirator.

However it took him six or seven hours before he was able to get all the money to pay the bill, and his mother was without a respirator during that time, he alleged.

“After I paid the bill, they transferred my mother to the emergency room of Vachira instead of the ICU. My mother spent one night in the emergency room before she was admitted to the ICU. I don’t understand why they didn’t send her straight to the ICU,” he said.

“I filed this complaint because I want people to be aware of my mother’s story. I will sue the OrBorJor Hospital for the damages. My mother passed away on January 1,” he added.

Mr Manop promised to investigate the incident.

The Gazette attempted to contact Dr Jak Sammana, the director of the OrBorJor Hospital, but he was unavailable for comment.

Source: http://www.phuketgaz...ticle11948.html

-- Phuket Gazette 2012-01-10

[Tanaka]

The hospital kept his mother there for a month stacking up a bill of 400.000 B before deciding they did not have the necessary equipment to treat her! What did they do during that month then if they could not treat her properly? It is beyond comprehension.

[Lite Beer]

Phuket hospital denies ‘deadly greed’ killed mum, 74

Phuket Gazette –

Hospital Director Dr Chack Somana denied all allegations that the hospital's actions contributed to the death of Pa Khongjean, age 74. Photo: Atchaa Khamlo

PHUKET: The director of the Phuket Provincial Administrative Organization (OrBorJor) Hospital today denied accusations that his hospital was “unethical” in its practices, which a man yesterday formally alleged contributed to his mother’s death.

Hospital Director Dr Chack Somana today refuted allegations leveled yesterday by Narongphon Suwanmosee, who claimed that the hospital refused to allow his mother, Pa Khongjean, to be transferred to Vachira Phuket Hospital for continuing treatment because of an outstanding medical bill.

“I deny all the accusations. On behalf of the hospital, I can say that we are truly ethical with our profession,” he told a press conference at the hospital this afternoon.

“What Mr Narongphon said was not right. Our hospital does have a policy to not allow patients to leave before they pay their bills, but in emergencies we are more concerned about the patient’s condition than the bill.

“The final bill that Mr Narongphon paid on December 29 was about 87,000 baht. The total bill since his mother was admitted to the hospital was 262,547 baht. He has always paid 20,000 baht at a time. He said he could claim the money back from his company by paying the bill in installments,” he said.

“I didn’t hear anything from our accounts department that Mr Narongphon was unable to pay the bill and that he had asked to transfer his mother first and to pay the bill later.

“If I were told that, I would have allowed him to transfer his mother to Vachira Hospital because he always pays his bill,” he added.

Dr Chack also told the press that the delay in transferring Ms Pa was because they had to wait until Vachira Hospital was ready to admit her.

He also denied that hospital staff took Ms Pa off a respirator while waiting to be transferred.

“That was not true at all. First of all, Mrs Pa was not on a respirator. She only had an oxygen mask to help her breathe, and we never removed that while she was being transferred.

“Also, we kept her in the [intensive Care Unit] ICU while she was waiting, not in an ambulance,” he added.

Dr Chack further countered allegations that the OrBorJor hospital failed to transfer Ms Pa directly to Vachira’s ICU, hence forcing her to wait in the Emergency Ward instead.

“Once Mrs Pa arrived at Vachira Hospital, she spent two to three hours in the Emergency Room since it is part of their screening process. This all depended on the opinion of the doctor there. He thought Ms Pa’s condition was still stable,” said Dr Chack.

“Mrs Pa spent at least a couple of days at Vachira Hospital before she passed away. She had so many medical conditions: diabetes, high blood pressure, a heart condition and chronic renal failure,” he added.

“On behalf of the OrBorJor Hospital, I would like to offer my condolences to Mr Narongphon and his family for their loss. I also want to give my promise that our hospital has our standards and that we work hard to try to help everyone.

“Even though we have limited resources, we devote ourselves to help everyone, and we treat everyone just like a family member,” said Dr Chack.

Source:

-- Phuket Gazette 2012-01-10

[MaiChai]

This does not surprise me. I have plenty of first hand experience of not getting treatment in Thai hospitals until you pay up front. Basically you won't get treated until you pay. Something needs to be done about this; priority should be saving lives not the hospitals profits.

[kevinellerton]

I spent a few days in Vachira after i broke my neck in a motorcycle accident; it seemed like nobody there cared if I lived or died. I couldn't move for 3 days, tried to call out for help but the nurses just walked on by. I transferred to BKK-Phuket, a world of difference (also 5x more expensive). Vachira wouldn't have transferred me if I couldn't pay the bill. My GF actually got stuck there because she couldn't pay the bill for her broken leg... She had to call her buddy (chief of police) to get her released.

[baboon]

The hospital kept his mother there for a month stacking up a bill of 400.000 B before deciding they did not have the necessary equipment to treat her! What did they do during that month then if they could not treat her properly? It is beyond comprehension.

These places are a con. An expensive con at that. Governent hospitals are the only places who can treat you if the defication really hits the fan. I urge you all to avoid these establishments for anything other than the most routine of ailments.

[buasaard]

The hospital kept his mother there for a month stacking up a bill of 400.000 B before deciding they did not have the necessary equipment to treat her! What did they do during that month then if they could not treat her properly? It is beyond comprehension.

These places are a con. An expensive con at that. Governent hospitals are the only places who can treat you if the defication really hits the fan. I urge you all to avoid these establishments for anything other than the most routine of ailments.

But this is a public owned hospital! The OrBorJor is the Provincial Authority!