Upgrade for Bogo hospital to be completed in a year

CEBU, Philippines - In time, Cebu’s countryside residents will no longer have to travel to Cebu City for their hospitalization needs, as the Capitol plans to upgrade the provincial hospital in Bogo City. 

At least P17.1 million has been set aside for the upgrade of the Severo M. Verallo Provincial Hospital, which is about 99 kilometers away from Cebu City.

Aside from the Bogo city hospital, the province is also looking at upgrading the provincial hospitals in the cities of Danao and Carcar, as these two facilities are strategically located and are accessible to residents of northern and southern Cebu.

Danao is 48.8 kilometers north of Cebu City while Carcar is 42.1 km south of Cebu City.  The Provincial Board has already authorized Governor Hilario III to enter into contract with Masulot Construction for the improvement of the hospital.

The construction company, which was declared by the Bids and Awards Committee as the bidder with a single calculated and responsive bid, is given 364 days to complete the project.

The upgrade is aimed at meeting the growing medical needs of the city as well as of its neighboring municipalities.

The concern has been gradually addressed by the Provincial Health Office by strategically placing medical centers away from Cebu City.

The Severo M. Verallo Provincial Hospital was upgraded recently to a 200-bed capacity from its 100-bed facility.

Based on the Department of Health classification standards, a level 2 hospital should have completed the basic requirements for a second-level facility; have departmentalized clinical services; and have operational respiratory unit, general intensive care unit, high-risk-pregnancy unit, neonatal intensive care unit, tertiary clinical laboratory, blood station, and a second-level x-ray with mobile unit.

Provincial Health Office chief Dr. Rene Catan said the upgrade is vital for the establishment of blood centers in the province to help address deaths due to blood loss.

He said the upgrading of the Bogo city hospital will help decongest the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center, a tertiary regional hospital in Cebu City.

This year, the province has allotted P881.9 million and 646.1 million of which is for hospital services. (FREEMAN)