City Councilman Sanit
Boonmachai took up the case after Methinee complained to city hall that she
was not given adequate care at Banglamung Hospital following a motorbike
accident.
Theerarak Suthathiwong
Doctors at Banglamung Hospital are under fire for sending
home a girl with a severely broken leg, rather than performing the surgery
relatives said was necessary.
Pattaya City Councilman Sanit Boonmachai took up the case
of 17-year-old Methinee Khotabin after she complained to city hall that she
was not given adequate care following a motorbike accident.
Methinee said her leg was placed in a soft splint and she
was told to go home and return in two or three days if it wasn’t better. The
hospital, she said, refused to admit her and told her that if she wanted to
be transferred to Chonburi Hospital, she’d have to make her own way there.
Hospital Director Narongsak Ekawatnakul contested the
teenager’s account of the story, saying that although the hospital did at
first x-ray the wrong leg and give an incorrect diagnosis, the girl did
receive proper care.
He said the broken leg was too swollen to properly treat
the break and advised her to return home only until the swelling eased
enough so the leg could be set.
He said the hospital offered to arrange transport to
Chonburi Hospital, but at her own expense, saying her case was not critical
enough for its scarce ambulance resources.
“The doctors provided adequate standard care required to
be given by every hospital,” Narongsak said.
Despite the family’s initial contentions that the
severely broken leg warranted immediate surgery, the girl and her family
accepted the hospital’s judgment and dropped their complaint.