Wazzup Pilipinas!?
On July 25, 2025, a daughter (Shaira Bugarin) from Caloocan lost her father at East Avenue Medical Center (EAMC) in Quezon City.
What makes her grief even heavier is the belief that his death could have been prevented — if only the public hospital system had worked the way it should.
She shared her ordeal in an emotional online post that has since resonated with thousands of readers, particularly those who rely on public hospitals because private healthcare is financially out of reach.
Her account paints a disturbing picture — not just of her father’s final days, but of a healthcare system under strain, where miscommunication, procedural delays, and lack of coordination can turn treatable cases into tragedies.
The First Signs: Hope and the Search for Surgery
In April, her father was diagnosed with a brain tumor accompanied by bleeding. Their doctors advised immediate surgery and recommended transferring to a larger hospital — either the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) or EAMC — that could perform the procedure.
Because EAMC was closer to their home in Caloocan, the family chose it. Looking back, she calls this “the most regretful decision” she has ever made.
Her complaint was not about the age of the doctors but about what she described as their lack of responsiveness and coordination.
One key figure, she claimed, only visited the ward about every five days and told the family to “wait for rounds” whenever they sought updates.
In those first two months, her father — who had been strong and able to walk when first admitted — never underwent surgery. Instead, the family was eventually told to discharge him to undergo an MRS (Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy) procedure at another hospital before surgery could proceed.
By then, she said, he had developed Type 2 diabetes, allegedly from prolonged use of dexamethasone, a steroid given to reduce brain swelling.
July 20: A Sudden Turn for the Worse
On July 20, her father developed fever, stomach pain, and difficulty breathing. Although he wanted to wait for their PGH schedule on July 23, the daughter rushed him back to EAMC, thinking his original medical teams could now act faster — especially since they had already prepared funds for the MRS.
Instead, he was admitted to the Internal Medicine ward and later transferred to the ICU. Doctors recommended intubation to ease his breathing and prevent heart failure, saying he had hospital-acquired pneumonia.
It was here that the family’s frustration deepened.
She alleged that her father’s condition was not consistently monitored, that the family had to repeatedly chase staff for updates, and that referrals — such as to gastroenterology after he began passing blood — were never actually made.
The Blood Transfusion Delay
The most critical delay, she said, came when her father’s hemoglobin levels dropped dangerously low.
Although doctors confirmed the need for an urgent blood transfusion on the night of July 23, it was not administered until nearly 12 hours later.
In that time, she said, she begged nurses, doctors, and the blood bank for action, only to be told she was being “too persistent” and reminded that they could not “do magic” in finding matching blood.
While the transfusion briefly improved his heart rate and responsiveness, it was too late.
Multiple failed attempts at blood extraction the next day delayed a second transfusion. Her father died on July 25 — before it could happen.
Cause of Death: Severe Sepsis
The death certificate listed severe sepsis as the cause of death.
Infections like sepsis are often fatal for patients with weakened immune systems, such as those battling brain tumors, and require immediate detection and treatment.
In her account, the daughter claims her father contracted pneumonia and suffered gastrointestinal bleeding while under hospital care — developments she believes could have been prevented or treated more aggressively.
One Good Doctor Amid the Pain
She singled out one physician — Dr. Pantig of Endocrinology — for praise, describing him as “exceptional” for his attentiveness and compassion.
But she said such dedication was the exception, not the rule.
A Larger Systemic Problem
Her story is not unique.
Public hospitals like EAMC and PGH serve thousands of patients daily, with limited staff, outdated facilities, and chronic budget shortages.
Even skilled medical professionals are stretched thin, leading to procedural bottlenecks, poor communication, and avoidable delays.
Healthcare experts point to several urgent reforms:
Increased funding for staffing, modern equipment, and essential medicines
Streamlined patient referral and procedure systems to eliminate deadly delays
Better infection control and emergency protocols
Improved doctor–patient communication so families understand the medical situation in real time
Her Final Words: A Warning to Others
The woman ends her account with a bitter truth:
“I know this post won’t bring my father’s life back, but I hope it will remind everyone to be careful when choosing a hospital. Don’t wait for a code blue before your patient is attended to.”
Her grief has now become part of a larger public conversation about the urgent need for healthcare reform in the Philippines — a conversation that will continue until lives like her father’s stop being lost to systemic neglect.
Ross is known as the Pambansang Blogger ng Pilipinas - An Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Professional by profession and a Social Media Evangelist by heart.
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