Saturday, August 30, 2008 CCMC closure worries patients By Linette C. Ramos Sun.Star Staff Reporter
ASIDE from losing their jobs, the staff members of Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC) are also worried for the hundreds of urban poor patients who seek medical help from them every day.
At the CCMC out-patient department (OPD) alone, up to 500 patients avail themselves of the free consultations and medical services daily, ranging from minors examinations to laboratory procedures and surgery.
Guillermo de Guzman, 62, is just one of the hundreds of patients who waited for their turn outside the OPD yesterday. He did not mind having to stand in the hot waiting area outside the CCMC, since he would get free check-up for his cataract.
He was scheduled to have an eye operation, which he would also get for free.
But with the mayor’s plan to sell the hospital, he wonders if he will be able to complete the treatment, and if he will still be able to get other free health services in his old age.
Free
“Ug ibaligya man gani unya tagaan na lang mi ug Philhealth, maayo unta na tanan gyud matagaan kay daghan ma’ng taga siyudad nga wala’y pangita nga kinahanglan magpatambal. Maayo lang unta nga sa dili pa ibaligya, maoperahan na ko kay asa na man lang ko ug wala na’y libre? (If they will sell the hospital, I hope every one will get the Philhealth cards they plan to give away because many jobless residents need the medical services. I hope I’ll have the free surgery before the sale of the hospital),” he told Sun.Star Cebu.
Ofelia Jabagat, 55, has been working as a nurse at the city hospital for the last 32 years.
Like de Guzman, she is also worried over the proposal to sell the facility, and the plan to lay off all regular and casual employees.
“Malipayon gyud kaayo ko diri kay makasilbi ta sa mga pobre, fulfilling gyud kaayo ni nga trabaho. Mao na nga affected kaayo ko sa plano nila, dili lang para namo’ng mga empleyado but para pud sa mga indigents. Asa na man lang ni sila ug masakit, kanang wala gyu’y bayad bisag consultation? (I’m happy to be of service to the poor.
It’s a fulfilling job. I’m affected with the plan to sell CCMC since it will affect the indigents. Where will they go to get free consultation services when they are sick?” she said.
CCMC, which began operating in 1961, has a 300-bed capacity and has an average daily occupancy of 200.
Undecided
Fed up with the inefficiency of the hospital personnel, Mayor Tomas Osmeña proposed to sell it in 2002 yet. Recently, there have been initial discussions with the University of San Carlos and the University of Cebu officials for the possible purchase of CCMC.
At City Hall, members of the City Council are still undecided whether it will be better for the public if the CCMC is privatized, or if a highly urbanized city like Cebu should have its own hospital.
Vice Mayor Michael Rama said the state of the CCMC and all the proposals on how it should be managed, including the sale, will have to be discussed thoroughly before they can make any stand on the issue.
This is why they invited the CCMC management and the consultants to a meeting so that all their concerns can be tackled.
He said, though, that the sale would still take time because it would require legislative action and some revisions in existing ordinances, such as the measure that created the CCMC.
“There is no question about it, there are reforms and improvements needed in CCMC but we also can’t say that the staff is not doing its job... Whatever the direction is for CCMC, legislation is needed. Negotiations with buyers or any contract will not become official unless there is a legislation on that,” Rama said.
Budget
The council, he said, still has not fully assessed the situation at the city hospital, which operates on a P160 million annual budget.
For his part, Councilor Gerardo Carillo said it would be premature to comment on the planned sale of the facility without hearing from the CCMC management, as well as the proposal of the interested buyers.
“One option is for the City to operate the hospital through a joint venture with the private sector or a cooperative. What is important is that the services should still be there, and for the City to be able to recover the cost of operating it,” Carillo added.
