Hospital denies negligence allegations

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

The administrators of Honoris Hospital in Tangerang denied on Thursday all allegations that it was negligent in the case of 70- year-old patient Cecilia Djarwati, who fell into a coma.

Cecilia was admitted to the hospital on May 25 to undergo cataract surgery on her left eye and remains to this day in a coma.

According to the hospital's lawyer O.C. Kaligis, the doctors had not yet begun the surgery when the patient lost consciousness.

The hospital explained that Cecilia was previously treated at the hospital for a stroke. She was discharged after four days of treatment.

On April 17, Cecilia went to the hospital and asked the doctors to check her eyes.

The doctors recommended cataract surgery and Cecilia's family agreed to have the surgery on May 25.

"(The hospital) prepared all the necessary procedures to conduct an eye operation. They gave the patient snacks at 12:20 p.m., but she threw up once at about 1 p.m. But remember, she has a historical record of brain stroke," Kaligis explained to reporters at his office.

At 1:30 p.m., while the hospital staff prepared her for the operation, Cecilia fell unconscious, and she was taken to another room for emergency treatment.

A brain scan showed cerebral bleeding. With the family's consent, the hospital subsequently conducted brain surgery.

"Cecilia's condition is getting better ... But we were very surprised that the following days, several media had published that her family had reported the case to the police, and accused my client (Honoris Hospital) of malpractice," Kaligis said.

Local media reported the case after one of Cecilia's daughters filed a complaint with the police on July 25, alleging negligence by the hospital.

Retno Pancawati said that her mother began vomiting and lost consciousness after she was given medication at the hospital just before the eye surgery.

Kaligis argued that the articles published in the newspapers had tarnished the hospital's public image, and would prevent would-be patients from choosing Honoris Hospital for medical treatment.

He said that he had sent the newspapers his client's version as part of their right to respond.

"We will file a police report against any media group that doesn't publish our response," he warned.

He was referring to articles published in Koran Tempo daily newspaper, Kompas Cyber Media news portal, Satelit News daily newspaper and The Jakarta Post.