City Health to Lobby P300M

The Cebu City Health department will be asking for a much bigger budget for next year because it is planning to hire more doctors, nurses and other medical personnel for the city.

City Health Officer Stella Ygoña told the reporters Thursday of her plan to hire 15 additional doctors, 5 nurses, 15 midwives, 5 dentists and 15 sanitary health inspectors.

The department has only 25 doctors assigned to the various barangay health centers. Because the city has 80 barangays, each doctor is manning three health centers.

Ygoña explained that hiring 15 more doctors would mean each handling only two health centers.

The hiring of more midwives is meant to encourage mothers to deliver their babies at the barangay health centers to decongest the Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC).

Ygoña said the sanitary health inspectors will be assigned to inspect the food establishments and food outlets including food vendors.

According to Ygoña, included in their three-year plan is to improve the barangay health centers by seeking help from the private sector, particularly the business establishments, to adopt a health center.

She said the Chinese-Filipino Chamber of Commerce and Industry already pledged to shoulder the renovation of five barangay health centers.

This year’s budget of the Cebu City Health Department is P196.1 million, including the P129 million for the personal services or the salaries and other benefits of the employees.

Ygoña may ask about P300 million budget for next year because the personal services would go up once her request for additional personnel will be granted.