Indian on hunger strike in Philippines over daughter's death

An Indian national in the Philippines has launched an hunger strike seeking justice over the death of his four-year-old daughter in 2011 which he blamed on alleged hospital negligence.
Ivan Fernandes, 51, who began the hunger strike on Friday, said he will not eat until Chong Hua Hospital will refund the expenses he incurred that amount to around 1.5 million Pesos (USD 33,7000), the Sun Star reported.
He said the hospital gave him 1,00,000 Pesos (USD 2250) last year and he opted to settle as he cannot afford to sue the hospital since he is bankrupt.
Fernandes alleged doctors at the hospital "were not keen enough to follow the medical instructions and monitor" his daughter Ishen Abigail's condition, who was admitted in the intensive care unit (ICU) on December 4 2011.

He wrote a letter to Health Secretary Enrique Ona in August last year complaining about the lapses on the part of the hospital on several occasions.
On one occasion, he said, her bed collapsed when a medical technologist sat on it to take blood samples, "even though there was a big sign that no one else than the patient should sit/lay on the bed."

Fernandes also said he saw off-duty nurses rehearing a dance number and doing their hair and makeup inside one of the ICU rooms.
On June 6 last year, the Bureau of Health Facilities and Services of the Department of Health issued a warning to the hospital in relation to Fernandes's complaints.

"Repetition of any similar incident shall be dealt with pursuant to existing regulations. Chong Hua Hospital is hereby reminded to re-orient the staff of the hospital on their existing policies and procedures and the supervisors should continuously monitor its implementation," the resolution said.
In a letter to Department of Health in September last year, Chong Hua's chief operating officer Dr Helen Po apologised for the incident involving Fernandes's daughter, the report said.
She also said the girl's condition was already deteriorating despite the medical attention given to her.
"The patient had multiple organ dysfunction syndrome secondary to septic shock leading to the patient's demise on the 14th hospital day," she said.