Only P14.4M allocated for medicine at CCMC

CEBU – The number of indigent patients who availed themselves of the services of the Cebu City Medical Center continues to increase every year, but despite such the city’s actual annual budget for the purchase of drugs and medicine is only P14.4 million.

It represents only a little percentage of the hospital’s overall annual budget in the amount of P139.3 million because the huge part of the budget goes to salaries and wages of the 525 employees, including the other operating expenses, this was learned.

Mayor Tomas Osmeña explained that he did not receive any recommendation from the hospital officials headed by Dr. Myrna Go and that he did not even know that there was “no allocation for the capital outlay or expenses for the purchase of medical equipment.”

Records showed that of the overall P139,305,661 annual budget of the CCMC, the P98,905,664 of it is intended for the personal services or the salaries and wages of the employees, while the P40,399,997 is for the Monthly Operating and Other Expenses.

Of the P98.9-million allocation for the personal services of employees, P62.2 million is for salaries and wages, P11.4 million for commutable allowances, P8.8 million for bonuses and incentives, P7.4 million for life and retirement, insurance contributions; P727,227 for PhilHealth; P558,800 for Pag-ibig; P779,545 for ECCC contribution; P90,000 for other bonuses and allowances; P200,000 loyalty pay; P1.6 million for subsistence and laundry allowances, P1.3 million for terminal leave benefits, P60,300 for hazard pay; P79,200 for honorarium of the hospital board of directors; and P3.2 million for the lump sum appropriations.

Lump sum appropriation is intended to augment the budget for personal services expenses once the allocated amount is already exhausted because of the increase in salaries of those employees who were promoted from their ranks.

The expenses under the Monthly Operating and Other Expenses are P14.4 million for drugs and medicines, P3.5 million for consultancy services, P3.8 million for electricity, P2.1 million for food supplies, P1.1 million for office supplies, P340,000 for training; P60,000 for travel allowance; P180,000 for other supplies; P36,000 for water; P338,400 for telephone; P2 million for janitorial, and P1,700 for Internet.

The records also showed that the patients of CCMC continue to increase from 130,553 in 2006 to 134,090 the following year. From January to June 30 this year, the total number of patients served by CCMC already reached 68,524.

While the CCMC would be forced to waive the payments of those who are really indigent and could not pay their bills, they were still able to collect P41.2 million from the payment of the patients in 2006. The amount increased to P44.7 million last year.

During the first six months this year, CCMC already collected P22 million. It was not properly explained in the report of Dr. Go on whether such income of the hospital was also spent to augment the hospital of the needed drugs and medicine.

Osmeña, who already thinks of selling the CCMC to any interested buyers because of its “poor performance”, described the collected amount as “already admirable” because the hospital is not an economic enterprise but is meant for public service. — Rene U. Borromeo/MEEV (THE FREEMAN)