No ICU

Dave Achondo

STOP slamming your heads against the wall, and just see what is wrong with this city’s hospitals. It does not matter if it’s a public or private hospital.

Downpayments are not allowed, and is against the law. Period.

I also have to agree with Councilor Lourdes Gaane that the city hall-owned JR Borja Memorial General Hospital should slow down on if not, stop hiring more people, and concentrate on upgrading its facilities instead. When they have imroved the facilities, then they can begin hiring more people.

The provincial hospital (Northern Mindanao Medical Center) and the JR Borja Memorial General Hospital are clearly lacking badly needed facilities, particularly intensive care units (ICUs).

So why hire more people? There was an approved budget of P120 million in August to set up an ICU department at the city hospital but, according to councilors, the hospital has nothing to show until now. So what people are asking themselves now is, what happened to the budget? Where did it go exactly?

Gaane was hands-down correct that it would be shameful for this city to approve 48 hospital positions in the JR Borja Memorial General Hospital when it could not event complete an ICU with funds set aside in the 2016.

The concern is timely and relevant given that a former mayor of this city, Pablo Magtajas, died because he could not be given immediate intensive care treatment for the simple reason that there was a shortage of ICU space. He had to be moved to another hospital hours later where he was placed in a vacant ICU only after his family paid a P50,000-downpayment.

What does that tell us? It tells us that Cagayan de Oro cannot cope with the demand for intensive care facilities, and the anti-hospital deposit law is not really being followed.

“Maulaw ta nga mag-approve kita og dugang nga empleyado, and then kulang ang atong serbisyo,” Gaane said.

And Councilor Reuben Daba added: “Naulawan kami tungod kay this committee asked other members of the city council to support and approve [the request for the budget] so we could answer the needs of the people. Pero what happened? Until now wala gihapon.”

The following are some reactions on social media.

Jose Jay Jardin Saligumba: “I experienced it myself too and also when my children were hospitalized. The hospital asked for a downpayment before admitting my daughter and son to the ICU… What a disgrace of these business-minded hospital.”

Erlinda Aznar: “Naa man siguro Philhealth para di lang sa mag-downpayment. Mao gayud na ang diperensya sa atoa. Di man gayud ta diritso ka-downpaynent kung emergency kay di man ta gapundo ug daku nga cash sa ato balay. Maayo unta ma areglar ni nga concern sa ato administration. Sigurusta ra sad ato mga hospital!”

Joshua Zamarro: “Asa naman kanang ICU unit sa JR Borja Hospital nga pirming gipanghambog sa administrasyun ni Mayor Moreno? Bakak diay kana kay biktima man si late mayor Ambing Magtajas…”

Clarence Dowers: “A lot of Filipino people die because they can’t afford to pay the high ‘downpayments’ to the hospital. The hospitals place pesos above saving lives. The public hospitals are overwhelmed with patients and some people die waiting to be seen by a medical professional.

“When the former mayor died, I hope it would bring changes and each hospital would be checked and both the RA 8344 Anti-Depository Law approved in 1997 and the RA 9439 Hospital Detention Law approved in 2007 would be imposed properly in this city at least, whether government and privately owned should be checked for their policies.”

I was really displeased by the response of a JR Borja Memorial General Hospital representative. Amelia Mibon told the health committee that the request for more positions is part of their efforts to elevate the hospital category to “Level 2.”

“We are catering 300 to 400 patients and outpatients per day, and we need more personnel. ‘Departmentalized’ na dayun kita,” Mibon said.

What a joke! Ask yourselves, how can you become a Level 2 hospital if you don’t even have the facilities to back it up.