CEBU CITY — Cebu’s public hospital patients may soon see shorter waits for medicine and treatment, as the Capitol readies the release of P80 million to address urgent shortages in medical supplies and staff.
Provincial Administrator Joseph “Ace” Durano said Gov. Pamela “Pam” Baricuatro had signed a memorandum authorizing the immediate disbursement of P5 million each to the 12 district and four provincial hospitals under the Capitol’s care.
The full P80 million fund, targeted for release as early as next week, will be used to procure essential medicines and equipment as part of the new administration’s short-term measures to ease the health care system’s current burdens.
He said the Capitol is ready to release additional funds if the initial allocation proved insufficient for the remaining five months of the year.
Durano did not comment on why the previous administration under former governor Gwendolyn Garcia had not released the money, saying the current leadership preferred to focus on moving forward.
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The Capitol also laid out medium- and long-term reforms during a meeting with hospital administrators and officials from the Department of Health at the Capitol on Wednesday.
In the medium term, Durano said the government plans to improve public hospitals by upgrading small Level 1 hospitals into larger Level 2 facilities.
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It will also turn infirmaries, which currently offer only basic services, into full Level 1 hospitals that can handle emergencies, general checkups, childbirth, children’s health, minor surgeries, and basic lab tests.
In the long term, the Capitol plans to transform some Level 2 hospitals into apex hospitals, decentralizing access to specialized care currently concentrated at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center in Cebu City.
Durano said this would reduce the need for patients to travel to the capital.
He also noted that the Department of Health in Central Visayas advised the province to fill vacant plantilla positions in order to meet Level 1 hospital accreditation requirements, a recommendation the Capitol is now reviewing.
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Baricuatro’s daughter and consultant on public health, Elisse Nicole Catalan, said provincial and district hospital chiefs were receptive during their courtesy meeting and raised consistent concerns about the lack of supplies and medical staff.
Catalan said the Department of Health would submit hospital-specific assessment reports within three weeks, which would guide the Capitol in crafting detailed strategies.
Catalan said she was confident that the public would begin noticing improvements in hospital services within weeks.
DOH-7’s Local Health Support Division Officer-in-Charge Nelner Omus praised the new administration for its openness to recommendations and said the agency was committed to supporting the Capitol with technical assistance and infrastructure support.
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“The province is now very open to suggestions… maybe, with collaboration among all of us, hopefully, we’ll really be able to give what is due to our constituents,” she said.
Baricuatro met with Department of Health Central Visayas officials and health sector stakeholders to discuss urgent solutions to Cebu’s public hospital concerns.
