DOH Hospital in Bacolod to Expand to 1k-Bed Capacity

The Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital (CLMMRH) here, a health facility operated by the Department of Health (DOH), is expected to expand its capacity from the present 400 to 1,000 beds starting next year.

This was confirmed by Bacolod City’s Lone District Rep. Greg Gasataya after the Senate approved House of Representatives Bill (HB) 8835 on third and final reading on June 3.

The bill, authored by Gasataya himself, seeks to legislate the expansion of the hospital’s bed capacity, increase its personnel, and appropriate funds for the purpose.

“This will be forwarded to Malacañang for the signature of President Rodrigo Duterte,” the legislator said on Wednesday.

Gasataya said once HB 8835 is enacted into law, the executive branch will be given a five-year deadline to implement it, as provided in Section 3.

He also said the Secretary of Health will immediately include its implementation in the DOH’s programs in the annual General Appropriations Act (GAA).

“If the President signs the bill, (the) budget for the implementation will be included in the 2020 GAA and the expansion will probably start by next year,” Gasataya added.

The Bacolod lawmaker thanked outgoing Senator Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito, chairperson of the Senate committee on health and demography, for supporting the bill.

Earlier, the management of CLMMRH, the only DOH hospital on Negros Island, reported that the constant acceptance of patients from various districts in Negros Occidental, including Bacolod City, has yielded an estimated bed occupancy rate of 207 percent to 213 percent.

Dr. Julius Drilon, medical center chief, appealed to the public to have patience and greater understanding with the hospital personnel as they continue to strive hard in rendering quality medical care.

On Oct. 14-16, 2018 alone, the hospital admitted an average of 835 patients per day when its capacity is only 400 beds.

Drilon said this created overcrowding in all areas of the hospital, affecting the quality of health care delivery in the departments of Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, Obstetrics-Gynecology, and Emergency.

Bed-sharing of two to four persons can be observed in the different wards, he added.

Drilon said the increase in the number of patients has already created a big impact on the hospital’s financial health as it doubled the expenditures allocated to only a 400-bed capacity hospital.

“We are exhausting all measures to address this perennial issue, which includes appealing to our central government to qualify our hospital as a 1,000-bed capacity with its corresponding budget allocation,” he added. (PNA)