PIH denies allegations

 By FRANK SENGE KOLMA

THE Pacific International Hospital (PIH) management has denied allegations by lawyer Peter Kuman last week that improper patient management and care are to blame for the death of his father.

Kuman last week obtained the coroner’s court order to direct the hospital to release all patient records of his father who passed away at PIH on May 29.

Responding to queries from The National, PIH chief executive officer DR Patnaik said: “The PIH management denies the allegations made by Mr Peter Kuman against PIH in The National newspaper on June 7, 2013.

“We believe that the hospital and its staff provided the best possible care to late Mr Kuman, to save his life from the critically severe medical condition in which he was presented to PIH.

“PIH maintains that there was no unethical practice and negligence in the medical management of the patient. Furthermore, following complete report from the coroner, PIH also reserves the right to take up the matter in the National Court and file a civil suit against Mr Peter Kuman for defamation of PIH and its staff, by releasing unsubstantiated information to the media …”

Patnaik said since the matter was now in the coroner’s court and could go on to become a civil suit in the National Court, the PIH could not reveal any further information on the case and would protect the medical confidentiality of the patient’s records.

The PIH legal representative has however “furnished all medical records to the coroner to facilitate a clinicopathological correlation by the coroner’s office into the cause of death and other possible causes”.

A post-mortem was performed on the late Paul Kuman before the body was flown last weekend for burial at his Kerowagi home in Chimbu.