Chong Hua Hospital Lost Accreditation. Expat's Life Changed

[Jollygoodfellow]

Interesting story how one expat's life changed forever and the problems with health care.  :unsure:

 

Derby electrician: my nightmare after losing leg in Philippines crash

 

An electrician lost his leg after a horrific motorbike crash in the Philippines which also left him paralysed down one side. Adam Woloczkow, 34, of Spondon, believes his limb could have been saved but blamed poor treatment at the hospital in which he was treated. An inquiry since found it had failed in 15 different areas.

 

World traveller Adam fell in love with the friendly people of the Philippines and dreamed of settling down there – but that hope turned into a nightmare after a horrific accident.

 

 

 

He admits he has always been seized by wanderlust, but settled eventually in the Philippines, near the city of Cebu, where he had been for six months.

 

Then one night he was riding his motorcycle home when he was hit by a lorry.

 

He woke up six hours later in hospital to find the bone in his leg sticking out at a 90-degree angle.

 

Local surgeons tried to save the leg, but, shockingly for him, eventually told him it would have to be amputated.

 

Now Adam's dream is over and he is back home, but unable to work because of his disability.

 

And he says his life has been "ripped apart".

 

What is worse, after he complained about his treatment in Cebu, American health experts investigated and found the hospital where his amputation was performed was deficient in 15 areas.

 

Adam has told his story in a bid to warn travellers of the dangers of visiting far-flung countries where healthcare may not be as good as in the UK.

 

He left Derby last year with the intention of settling down and calling the Asian country his new permanent home.

 

"I had gone out to the Philippines for a year and I planned on moving out there afterwards. It has always been my dream to move abroad," he said.

 

"I was at a carnival with my friend one evening and I decided to go back a bit early. It was around midnight and I was riding home on my motorbike, which I often did late at night.

 

"I remember there was a lorry in the distance coming down the road towards me, so I was focusing on that.

 

"Then I vaguely remember seeing headlights in my peripheral vision and then that was it."

 

Adam, of Vancouver Avenue, Spondon, remembers waking up more than six hours later in the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Centre in Cebu to find his left leg almost unrecognisable, with the shin bone sticking out at a 90-degree angle.

 

He said: "Either the person who hit me brought me in or someone who found me on the street. But I would have died had they not done it because I had lost so much blood."

 

His Nepalese doctor told him he had to operate instantly and a metal plate was inserted into his leg in an attempt to repair the damage.

 

But the limited resources available meant he needed to be moved to a larger, private hospital, and he was transferred to Chong Hua Hospital in Cebu City.

 

It was here Adam learned the full extent of the damage. Having had three operations to remove infected muscle tissue from the leg already, his condition was worsening and he developed gangrene in his foot.

 

"They told me after the third operation that we could keep going for another ten operations and at the end I would have a really weak leg and a heavy limp for the rest of my life," Adam said. "Or they could amputate the leg to avoid further infection, as it was spreading upwards towards my torso.

 

"It wasn't worth it, I knew that straight away. I had to have it amputated.

 

"It completely rips your life apart."

 

Adam returned to the UK on October 10, almost a month after the accident, which happened on September 14, last year. He received what he calls excellent NHS treatment at the Royal Derby Hospital and Leeds General Infirmary.

 

It was while at the Royal Derby that he was told of the full damage to his left shoulder and arm – he would never have full use of them again.

 

Surgeons attempted to get some feeling back into the arm but to no avail and, by Adam's own admission, if he could hold his arm upright on its own again it would be an achievement.

 

The whole ordeal has left Adam unable to work. He also cannot play guitar or run – his two favourite hobbies before the accident.

 

And he has had to move in with his mum, Gail Woloczkow, 62, and stepdad Vaughan Butler, 61, in Spondon.

 

Despite his disability, he admits he still wants to go travelling again.

 

The Chong Hua Hospital and JCI were both unable to comment.

 

ADAM'S COMPLAINS ABOUT THE HOSPITAL

 

Although it is not clear whether Adam’s leg would have been saved had the crash happened in the UK, he believes he would have been able to keep more of it.

 

He and stepdad Vaughan say critical tests on the leg, which would have shown fusing of the artery and shin bone, took place too late.

 

They voiced their concerns to Joint Commission International – an American company which gives credibility to hospitals in less economically developed countries all over the world – which then undertook an investigation into the hospital’s practices and conditions.

 

A letter from JCI to Adam reveals the investigation found 15 faults. It removed its accreditation in July this year and recommended the hospital make improvements to several areas, including handover between doctors and nurses at the end of shifts and improvement in the processes of administrating blood to patients.

 

For Vaughan, who is a fundraiser for Rainbows Hospice for Children and Young People, it is not a surprise that Chong Hua, which is the biggest hospital in Cebu, has been shunned by its backers.

 

He said: “Adam didn’t have the first operation on his leg until six days after he was admitted to Chong Hua and he needed it straight away, the blood pressure in his left leg was so low.

 

“The whole experience was horrible for all of us. It is just so important to have the full insurance cover, which luckily Adam did. Because if something like that happens and you don’t then it could be a whole lot worse.

 

“So if you are looking at going away and think, ‘I could save a bit of money there’, don’t.”

 

 

http://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/dream-settling-abroad-nightmare/story-27891508-detail/story.html

 

 

 

[Dave Hounddriver]

The guy in this article was just unlucky.  MikeB had a very similar accident, was taken to Chong Hua, and 2 million pesos later was on his way back to health.  He told me a time or two that he doesn't ride motorcycles here anymore because motorcycles get no respect on the road.

 

If I was in a motorcycle accident and had loads of money I would want Chong Hua to treat me.  If I was on a budget I would probably still go there for treatment but I understand that hospitals are a business here and if I could not pay for executive treatment then I would not expect executive treatment.  Life has a dollar and cents value at hospitals in Philippines.

[mogo51]

A sorry story Dave for this guy.  It is no different in Thailand and indeed Australia for that matter - everything has a dollar value.  You get ripped off, just seems to be how lucky you are at the time.  In Pattaya, there is Bangkok/Pattaya Hospital which charges like the Light Brigade, but often with mixed results.

I would go to a Government hospital nearby, 1/3rd price and about the same level of care!  But it is always a game of  chance.

[Mike S]

I have mixed emotions here with someone trying to compare a 3rd world countries hospitals with ones in England or other developed countries ..... I spent some 17 years in the health care industry in the US and believe me there are horror stories to be told there also ..... I just spent 6 days in a hospital here in Bacolod and yes there definitely differences such as equipment is not state of the art but the care was super as far as I'm concerned ...... and no I didn't have an operation but I was in ICU .... for 2 days and like I said not state of the art ..... I was treated with respect and dignity and the nursing and doctors care was superb .....

 

At one time I was taken to the ultra-sound department in my bed as I was hooked up to an IV and heart monitor .... they had to wheel the bed outside the main enterance down a ramp and into the next building (try that in the US) and then they found out the bed would not fit through the door to the ultra-sound machine .... so they took the machine out of the room and put curtains around me in the corridor and proceeded with the tests ..... oh by the way they had a portable machine but it was to small for them to use on me (as it was Filipino size :mocking: ) ......

 

You do what you gotta .... JMHO

:cheersty:

Edited October 1, 2015 by Mike S

[DavidK]

There's a lesson here:- Don't ride a motorbike in the Philippines. I know a Swiss guy who had a similar problem from an accident in North Thailand and lost a leg. He also lost all his personal belongings in the hospital as well.

[scott h]

Sorry this guy lost his leg, but we have a saying in the states. Comes from hawkers at carnival type games in traveling circuses. "You pays your monies and you takes your chances"

 

This cat knew he was in the third world, yet riding a bike in the middle of the night? Here? I don't even like to drive my car here at night the lighting is so bad.

 

A letter from JCI to Adam reveals the investigation found 15 faults.

 

An American outfit using American standards naturally they found faults, this isn't America nor the UK. Frankly this guy should be thankful he wasn't spending his wanderlust in Cambodia or Laos or Nigeria he would be dead now.

[MikeB]

The guy in this article was just unlucky. MikeB had a very similar accident, was taken to Chong Hua, and 2 million pesos later was on his way back to health. He told me a time or two that he doesn't ride motorcycles here anymore because motorcycles get no respect on the road.

I don't know how much it was total, so much was paid out of pocket and reimbursed by check and a lot was direct-billed to the insurance company. With aftercare it was at least p2 million but could have been much more.

According to the article Mr Woloczkow had full insurance coverage, so there was no reason he should have been taken to the public hospital first, but he was unconscious and unable to speak for himself so maybe that's the policy of the ambulance crews. No idea. In the ambulance I was repeating over and over "I have insurance" so they took me to Chong Hua straightaway. I would think they would automatically take a foreigner to the private hospital but apparently not. These 2 hospitals are only a block apart. As for the step-father blaming Chong Hua for not doing the operation right away, there was probably a valid medical good reason for that. They didn't operate on me for a week because my condition was so weak from blood loss and infection. If they think you may not survive the operation they won't do it. I'm not at all surprised they took away the accreditation, the "processes of administrating blood to patients" is so ridiculously bad I can't even imagine what the public hospitals are like. No, I won't be riding any more motor bikes in this lifetime. I don't even drive my SUV at night unless it's an emergency.

[Old55]

Motor bike late at night.