Capitol yields hospital operations to 4 LGUs

The Cebu provincial government has devolved to the local government units of Boljoon, Oslob, Santander and Samboan the operation of the Oslob District Hospital.

Granting these four towns the right to operate and manage the district hospital, which is proximate to their areas, would make them efficiently and effectively address their health concerns, said Governor Gwendolyn Garcia.

The turnover of the hospital operation, through a memorandum of agreement, was attended by the four mayors, Deogenes Derama of Boljoon, Ronald Guaren of Oslob, Raymund Joseph Calderon of Samboan, and Wilson Wenceslao of Santander.

Calderon, speaking on behalf of the mayors, said they accepted the responsibility of running the Oslob hospital despite their lack of enough expertise in handling hospital matters. “This will be for the best interest of our constituents, so we will work doubly hard,” he said.

Under the MOA, the four towns will take possession of the hospital, shoulder the maintenance and operation costs, and do improvements of the buildings and facilities.

The provincial government however retains its inspection rights over the hospital, and still provide P1 million to help financially the four towns in running the hospital.

Garcia earlier said that integrating the operation of a hospital in the hands of LGUs near it was the best solution to address the financial straits the Capitol had in running the hospital. Five district hospitals have been identified for consolidation, and so far only the Oslob hospital has been devolved.

The Capitol had been spending P200 million for at least 16 district hospitals in Cebu, and one of Garcia’s plan now is to let higher-capacity hospitals absorb smaller-capacity hospitals.

Her long-term goal however is privatization, citing that private managers have more technical expertise, and the savings the Capitol could generate out of it.

The operation of district hospitals was devolved from national to local governments in 1992, following the provisions of the Local Government Code.

Meanwhile, Rep. Benhur Salimbangon (Cebu, 4th dist.) recently said that the Daanbantayan District Hospital may be merged with the Severo Verallo Memorial Hospital in Bogo City.

The Daanbantayan staff will be used to augment the Verallo hospital, which attends to an average of 106 patients every day. “It is a losing option but we have to maximize our resources. At Verallo, it’s always crammed with patients,” Salimbangon said.

He planned to expand the 50-bed Verallo hospital to a 100-bed capacity hospital. — Garry B. Lao/RAE