WORK on the cancer center of the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) starts tomorrow, December 1, a hospital official said yesterday.
Dr. Antonio Roque Paradela, VSMMC chief of professional medical clinics, said the cancer center building will be situated at the hospital’s tennis court which is currently used as a parking area.
Initial funding for the eight-storey center which has two basements as parking areas is pegged at P475.5 million.
Dr. Paradela said construction work meant the hospital will have a limited parking area.
A memorandum issued by Dr. Gerardo Aquino, VSMMC chief, prohibits hospital employees/personnel and staff with no car sticker from entering the facility.
Motorists and taxis carrying patients will be advised to drop off their patients or passengers in designated areas.
Dr. Paradela said the tennis court can accommodate 70 vehicles while 30 vehicles can park outside the facility. “We apologize in advance to the public and to our clients for this inconvenience,” Dr. Paradela said.
He said they posted notices and tarpaulins on this while their employees were issued copies of the order. The groundbreaking for the cancer center was held last June.
Dr. Paradela said the Department of Health (DOH) started bidding for cancer diagnostic and treatment equipment worth P1 billion.