CHD urged to check scarcity of medicine in upland brgys

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu City Councilor Alvin Arcilla called the attention of the City Health Department on various reports and complaints from residents of mountain barangays for lack of enough medical supplies.

Worse, complainants found that the supplies are taken home for personal consumption of the persons to whom CHD entrusted them.

Arcilla wants the reports investigated to help the residents in the upland barangays who have less access to medical facilities and supplies that are mostly found in the low lands or urban area.

Dr. Stella Ygoña, head of the CHD assured Arcilla that medicines supplied to the barangay health centers are properly accounted for by the midwives who make quarterly request for medical supplies.

“Every quarter, mo-request sila. They can’t request if wala sila’y utilization report,” she said.

Ygoña promised the councilor that they will look deeper into the matter and possibly devise a measure which they can use to ensure that medicines go where it should be.

Arcilla pointed out that it is very important that mountain barangays have enough supply because unlike the urban barangays, the residents in upland areas do not have enough time and resources to go to City Hall to avail of the City Hospitalization Assistance and Medical Program.

Under CHAMP, all registered voters in the city are entitled to P5,000 worth of medical supplies per year and P25,000 worth of hospitalization subsidy.

But to apply, one has to go to City Hall where they will undergo the process.

If the CHD’s budget for medicines is to be divided to the 80 health centers in the city, each one gets only more than P50,000 worth of medicines per year.

These are medicines for colds, fever, hypertension and asthma among others excluding drugs for maintenance such as that for diabetes and other major diseases. CHD also supplies vitamins.

Ygoña said that CHD will also add more health personnel including sanitary inspectors to provide more efficient service to the city residents.

Next year, CHD is planning to hire five medical officers, five technologists and five sanitary inspectors to be deployed in the five mini-city health offices that they will create to bring the service closer to the people.

The five mini-city health offices will be located in strategic areas including mountain barangays.

For next year, the CHD has a budget of P25 million for medicine expenses. This is about 400 percent more compared to this year’s appropriation. (FREEMAN)