New barangay health centers to decongest city hospital
Eighteen paramedics undergo training to become ambulance personnel at the ERUF Training Center in Mandaue City. (CDN FILE PHOTO)
Come November, Cebu City will have new barangay-based emergency medical response units and health care facilities to improve emergency response time and to decongest the already crowded Cebu City Medical Center.
The project is a new partnership endeavor of the cities of Cebu and Haarlemmermeer of The Netherlands, which have been sister cities since 1990.
Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (CCDRRMO) head Nagiel Bañacia said the project would enable the city to improve its ambulance system.
Moreover, the program will be anchored on climate change, adaptation and mitigation, which will make it more acceptable to the City of Haarlemmermeer, he added.
The project will be piloted in Barangay Mabolo because it is considered a disaster risk area.
Having the barangay-based ambulance will decongest CCMC since minor incidents and emergencies in nearby could be immediately attended to in the nearest barangay health centers, Bañacia added.
“We all know the problems of CCMC. We lack buildings and medical supplies,” said Bañacia.
Even with the aid from the sister city, the city government said they would be assigning more doctors, nurses and midwives to make the barangay health centers, operational round the clock.
Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña also said yesterday that they were bent on decongesting CCMC by “ providing the services on site where the person is.”
Bañacia added that hewould coordinate with Councilors Alvin Dizon and Mary Ann Delos Santos and would be in talks with the barangay captains regarding the details of the project.
The City of Haarlemmermeer allocated 15, 000 euro per year or around P70, 000 to fund the three-year training program. There is also a memorandum of agreement between the two cities.
City officials of the City of Haarlemmermeer led by Mayor Theo Weterings are scheduled to visit Cebu City in November to look into the various other projects that they have worked out together with the city government and other local non-government agencies.
Bañacia said that a comprehensive training program for paramedics would be one of the many things that they could learn from experts from the City of Haarlemmermeer.
Locally, at least 18 paramedics have underwent a training project conducted at the Emergency Rescue Unit Foundation (Eruf) Training Center in Mandaue City.
“This is a better training for the ambulance personnel because it is approved and evaluated by Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda),” said Bañacia.
For the barangay-based emergency medical response units and health care project, Bañacia said the City of Haarlemmermeer has agreed to allot P20, 000 for each Eruf trainee during the 3-week classroom training and the one and a half-month of on-the job training (OJT) on-board an Eruf ambulance.
The Cebu City government, on the other hand, would provide the personnel and prepare the health centers.
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