Alleged hospital negligence in Buriram leads to patient’s agonising death: Daughter demands accountability

A case of alleged medical negligence has been brought to light in Buriram province with 39 year old Nunchida Chomchaiyaphum slamming a local hospital. The hospital’s reported disregard for the woman’s 58 year old mother’s declining health led to a fatal end after the patient endured agonising pain for over 40 hours. Nunchida said…

“Even when I insisted several times to shift her to Buriram Hospital Centre, the doctors denied the request, stating that her condition was manageable.

On June 8, her mother, Ruang Sitthiwong, had an accident while riding a motorcycle, resulting in a fractured rib and a damaged liver.

“She was in constant pain, always mentioning, ‘My stomach hurts so much, let the doctor give me an injection.”

Nunchida proposed transferring her mother to a larger hospital but the doctors dismissed the idea, arguing that the facility was adequately equipped to handle the case and suggesting that Buriram Hospital was already overwhelmed with patients. Overnight the patient’s condition severely deteriorated, leaving Nunchida with no choice but to bear the agonising cries of her mother all through the night. She was continuously refused the desperately needed transfer, reported KhaoSod.

“During the evening of June 9, her condition was the same when I again asked the doctor to shift my mother. They seemed irritated and repeated that the doctors had already left and I will have to wait till morning.”

It was around half past one, very early on the morning of June 10, when Ruang suffered hypoxia and attempted to remove her oxygen mask. By the time the doctors arrived, despite their best efforts to resuscitate her, it was too late.

The following heartbreak was slightly eased by the hospital’s modest contribution toward the funeral expenses, however, the sympathy was shadowed by the revelation of their shortcomings. After the funeral, a doctor admitted to Nunchida that their facility lacked the adequate tools and expertise to handle her mother’s case. This acknowledgement only ignited her anger, as the earlier assurances of her mother’s case being ‘manageable’ now echoed hollowly.

“I am confident that my mother’s death was the result of the hospital’s mismanagement. She kept saying that she had a severe stomach ache. I strongly suspect something abnormal happened inside her stomach, but the doctors didn’t pay much heed.

“I pity my mother, she suffered for over 40 hours and nobody could help her. She shouldn’t have died this way.”