BY GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Provincial consultant for Hospital Operations Mariano Antonio Cui III yesterday justified the transfer of operations of the Vicente Gustilo District Hospital and Calatrava Municipal Hospital to the local government units of Escalante City and Calatrava, respectively, saying this will ensure maximum health services to residents in those areas, and neighboring places.
This is to ensure also that both will continue to operate and survive during this critical period, Cui said.
He added that the public can avail of the full benefits offered by PhilHealth as the pharmacies of the two hospitals will secure enough medical supplies.
“Our main goal is to make CDH and VGDH 90 percent operational, like any other hospital,” he said.
As of this time, however, Cui said the two district hospitals can only accept patients with minor cases, due to lack of medicines and medical equipment.
Provincial Legal Officer Alberto Nellas Jr. also disputed claims that the transfer of CDH and VGDH operations to LGUs was illegal.
With the turnover of the two hospitals to concerned LGUs, Cui said the provincial government may now reassign nurses and other staff to other district hospitals, while the LGUs supervising the health facilities may hire their own staff.
Citing a 2019 report, Cui reported that the 11 hospitals managed by the provincial government, including the CDH and VGDH, suffered about P520 million in operational losses, and these compelled the present administration to turn over the operations of the two hospitals to the LGUs to sustain their medical health services. Based on the agreement, Cui said Calatrava and Escalante City will receive 70 percent subsidy from the provincial government for the hospitals’ operations, with the remaining 30 percent will be shouldered by the two LGUs.*
