ハンセン病療養所の医療過誤 : 医療過誤訴訟原告からの聞き取り《調査ノート》

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山下ミサ子（医療過誤訴訟上の仮名）の語るライフストーリーは，文字どおり波瀾万丈の物語だ。彼女は1938（昭和13）年，鹿児島県の生まれだが，5歳の時に父親が出征。そして，戦死。中学校3年のときには，母親が3人の子どもの育児をネグレクトして，姿を消す。ハンセン病を発症し，中学を卒業した年の夏に，鹿児島県鹿屋市の星塚敬愛園に入所。ここで10年間の療養生活をおくるが，あるとき，藤楓教会の濱野規矩雄理事長の随行で高松宮夫妻が来園。彼女は高松宮妃の気に留められるようになり，濱野理事長の世話で静岡県御殿場市にあるカトリック系の神山復生病院に転園。そこで，上智大学のガラルダ神父や何人かの著名人の知遇を得る。1970年に復生病院を退院した後，復生病院に慰問に来ていたアメリカ人夫妻の招きで，1年弱のアメリカ滞在経験をするなど，社会のなかで，長年にわたって，やさしい心根の人たちとの交流を深めていたし，ハンセン病に理解ある夫との結婚生活をおくっていたが，病気が再発し，多摩全生園に再入院。そこで医療過誤に遇い，並里まさ子医師に命を救われるとともに，国を相手取って医療過誤訴訟を提起。この聞き取りで語られた多摩全生園での医療過誤の実態は，すさまじい。東京地裁での一審判決は，全面勝訴。国の控訴を受けて，のち和解に至る。――ハンセン病に対する「強制隔離政策」は“ハンセン病医療をもハンセン病療養所に隔離してしまった”と言われる。そのなかで，医療の貧困がいかに形作られたのか，記録に留めておきたいと考える。聞き取りは，元・栗生楽泉園副園長の並里医師が所沢に開院した「おうえんポリクリニック」にて，2011年2月6日，おこなった。聞き手は，福岡安則，黒坂愛衣，足立香織（当時，埼玉大学の福岡ゼミの学生）。退所者で，山下ミサ子の裁判を全面的に支援した川島光夫（かつての園名）が同席。山下ミサ子の語りは，「話をするとさ，その出来事と，そのときの風景と，そのときの話，ぜんぶ浮かんでくるもんだから，ついつい，ベラベラしゃべっちゃうのよね」とおっしゃるとおり，雄弁で，しばしば笑いを誘う語りは，5時間におよんだ。なお，彼女には前半生を綴った著作『ほほえみて』（1989年）がある。Ms. Misako Yamashita's life story is stormy and full of drama. (Misako Yamashita is her pseudonym for the medical malpractice lawsuit.)She was born in Kagoshima Prefecture in 1938. When she was five years old, her father went to war, and was killed in action. When she was in the 3rd grade of middle school, her mother abandoned her three children including Misako and left home without notice. Misako found her Hansen's disease symptom in the summer just after she graduated from middle school. She entered National Sanatorium Hoshizuka Keiaien at Kanoya City in Kagoshima Prefecture. She had stayed there for ten years. One day Mr. Kikuo Hamano, the chair of Tōfū Society accompanied Their Highnesses Prince and Princess Takamatsu to visit the sanatorium. Thanks to the princess' special attention, Misako moved to Koyama Fukusei Hospital, a Catholic medical institute at Gotenba City in Shizuoka Prefecture. She earned chances to meet several famous people such as Father Garralda of Sophia University.After she got released from Fukusei Hospital in 1970, she had stayed in the United States less than a year with the invitation from an American couple who had paid a visit of console to the hospital where Misako had stayed. She had made social network with sympathetic people for a long time and her marriage life had been peaceful with help from the husbund who was understanding her disease.However, her disease reoccurred and she had to be hospitalized in National Sanatorium Tama-Zenshoen at Higashimurayama City in Tokyo Metropolis. She experienced the medical malpractice there and Dr. Masako Namisato saved her life. Misako brought lawsuit against the government of Japan for the medical malpractice. The truth of the medical malpractice in Tama-Zenshoen that we heard from the interview with her was terrible. She won the case in the first trial at Tokyo District Court. Although the government appealed against the decision, they reached an amicable settlement. It must be the Segregation Policy which isolated the medical service for the disease as well as the patients. We thought it is necessary to record the facts to show how poor medical service Hansen's disease has been formed.This interview was practiced in February 6th, 2011 at Ouen Poly Clinic which Dr. Nakasato, former vice director of National Sanatorium Kuriu-Rakusenen opened in Tokorozawa City near Tokyo. Interviewers were Yasunori Fukuoka, Ai Kurosaka, and Kaori Adachi (Fukuoka's seminer student at Saitama University at the time of the interview). Mr. Mitsuo Kawashima (his former alias in the sanatorium), the former resident who fully supported Ms. Misako Yamashita in the lawsuit sat in company with us for the interview. Misako said, "As I tell you my story, I cleanly remind old incidents, the scenery and dialogues, so I tend to keep taking and taking." Her eloquent and humorous telling lasted almost 5 hours.It should be noted, she published the book Hohoemite (Smiling)(1989), the story of the first half of her life.