Report No. 94 (2013) IACHR. Petition No. 790-05 (Panamá)

• Year: 2013
• Petition Number: 790-05
• Report Number: 94
• Court: Inter-American Comission of Human Rights
• Respondent State: Panamá
• Alleged Victim: Pacientes del servicio de psiquiatría del Hospital Santo Tomás
• Case Type: Admissibility

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REPORT No. 94/13

PETITION 790-05

ADMISSIBILITY

PATIENTS OF THE PSYCHIATRIC SERVICE OF SANTO TOMÁS HOSPITAL

PANAMA

November 4^, 2013

I. SUMMARY

1. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (hereinafter “Inter-American Commission,” “the Commission,” or “IACHR”) received a complaint filed by Doctor Frank Guelfi (hereinafter “the petitioner”) against the Republic of Panama (hereinafter “the Panamanian State,” “Panama,” or “the State”), in which he claims that Wendolyne Hooper Tapiero, Carlos A. Bazán Collado, Anayansi Sánchez, Jessica Mendoza, Sandra C. Morris, Rubén Darío Phillips, Denis Uriel Requenez, Uribiades Algandona Jaén and Amalfi López (hereinafter “alleged victims”), all patients of Ward 25 of the Psychiatric Service of Santo Tomás Hospital (a public institution) were victims of mistreatment, medical negligence, malpractice and manslaughter, and that a diligent investigation of these facts had not been made. The petitioner also claims that Melany Narváez Victoria, in spite of her mental condition, was sentenced to 28 years in prison for aggravated homicide. Moreover, the petitioner maintains that as a consequence of having reported these situations, he has been a victim of persecution at the workplace.

2. The State, in turn, claims that the petition is inadmissible because it is groundless and does not contain facts that prove the existence of human rights violations. It maintains that the petitioner has asked the IACHR to examine matters that have undergone proceedings in the domestic venue, according to due process, and within the jurisdiction of the national courts.

3. The Commission, without prejudging on the merits of the complaint, after analyzing the positions of the parties and pursuant to the requirements of articles 46 and 47 of the American Convention, decides to declare the case admissible for the purposes of examining the alleged violation of rights provided for by articles 4, 5, 8, and 25, in connection with article 1.1 of same. The Commission also decides to notify the parties of its decision, publish it, and include it in its Annual Report to the General Assembly of the OAS.

II. PROCEEDINGS BEFORE THE COMMISSION

4. The petition was received on July 18, 2005 and registered as P-790-05. It was forwarded to the State on May 2, 2006, granting it two months to submit observations. After receiving an extension, Panama submitted its reply on August 4 2006.

5. In addition, the Commission received information from the petitioner on the following dates: October 31, 2006; January 31, May 14, August 29 and October 24 of 2007; February 21, March 24, and September 18 of 2008; March 16, June 2, August 24, September 29 and November 4, 2009; January 20, May 26, September 3 and November 2, 2010; February 14, May 9 and August 18 of 2011; August 3 and 9 of 2012, and September 24 of 2013. These communications were duly forwarded to the State. For its part, Panama submitted information on December 14, 2006; March 20, June 27 and December 13, 2007; May 22 of 2008; April 20 and August 26 of 2009; May 20 of 2011; May 24, June 3, and July 12 of 2013. These communications were duly forwarded to the petitioner.

6. In an August 3, 2012 communication, the petitioner stated his interest in attending a hearing during the 146th regular period of sessions of the IACHR, to address issues related to the petition. The IACHR informed him on October 24, 2012 that, due to the high volume of hearings requested, it would not be possible to grant him his request.

III. POSITION OF THE PARTIES

1. The petitioner

7. The petitioner, a psychiatrist at the Santo Tomás Hospital at the time of the alleged facts, contends that the patients of the psychiatric service of Public Hospital Santo Tomas, Wendolyne Hooper Tapiero, Carlos A. Bazán Collado, Anayansi Sánchez, Jessica Mendoza, Sandra C. Morris, Rubén Darío Phillips, Denis Uriel Requenez, Uribiades Algandona Jaén and Amalfi López, were victims of maltreatment, medical negligence, malpractice and manslaughter, all of which were not duly investigated. He also maintains that Melany Narváez Victoria, with mental disabilities, was convicted and sentenced for a crime that she committed due to her psychiatric condition, using a judicial assessment allegedly contradictory to the one made by the petitioner in his report rendered as an expert witness during the proceedings. In addition, he maintains that, due to having reported these facts, he has been persecuted at the workplace.

8. He specifically reports that Wendolyne Hooper Tapiero was granted permission by a hospital doctor, allegedly acting negligently, to leave the hospital, as a result of which her life was in danger. Ms. Anayansi Sánchez’s attending physician was changed when her life was in danger. Regarding Jessica Mendoza, the petitioner states that she was a victim of “Nazi experiments” and of an allegedly negligent suspension of medication. Sandra C. Morris, due to negligent medical attention, suffered negative effects to her health and subsequently jumped from a fourth floor. Rubén Darío Phillips received negligent medical care. Denis Uriel Requenez was the victim of irregularities and negligence in the medical treatment he received; he ended in a state of depression that led him to commit suicide. The petitioner states that Amalfi López and Uribíades Algandona Jaén received negligent medical care. The latter, according to the information provided by his widow, although he suffered from dengue, diarrhea, and complained of strong headaches, was never given medicine to alleviate his suffering.¹ According to a report from the Santo Tomás Hospital itself, Carlos A. Bazán Collado was admitted on July 2, 1998 due to an autolytic attempt, i.e., an attempt to commit suicide. Six days after having been admitted, and due to the allegedly negligent medical attention he received, he committed suicide.² The petitioner further claims that all these facts were reported to the national authorities but the investigations were conducted negligently and with many irregularities.

9. The petitioner reports that, regarding Melany Narváez Victoria, the alleged victim was sentenced to 28 years of prison for the crime of aggravated homicide. He contends that although the decision sentencing her states that the alleged victim had the ability to understand the unlawfulness of her acts, according to the expert psychiatric report written by him, this conclusion could not be drawn.

10. Regarding the violations committed against him, the petitioner claims that because he had reported the violations committed, he was the victim of acts of persecution and harassment in the workplace. In addition, he reports that on February 29, 2008 he was dismissed from his position as a psychiatrist of the Santo Tomás Hospital, in retaliation for the report he filed on January 29, 2008 before the Office of the Attorney General of the Nation [Procuraduría General de la Nación (PGN)], related to the suspected commission of crimes against the life and integrity of Uribiades Algandona Jaén and Amalfi López.

11. With respect to the criminal investigations and other proceedings initiated based on the alleged facts, the petitioner’s statements are presented in greater detail as follows:

Proceeding regarding Wendolyne Hooper Tapiero, Carlos A. Bazán Collado, Anayansi Sánchez, Jessica Mendoza, Sandra C. Morris, Rubén Darío Phillips and Denis Uriel Requenez

12. In this regard, the petitioner claims that the following motions were ...