The fact that Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama said that business tycoon Manny Pangilinan expressed interest to co-manage the Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC) is an indication that there may be something to the mayor’s plan to build a new hospital from scratch.
There may be some truth to the mayor’s statement about Pangilinan’s interest to invest and co-manage the hospital, after the businessman balked at doing so during his visit to Cebu City and stopover at the old CCMC during the tenure of former mayor and congressman Tomas Osmeña.
For one, building the new CCMC would cost P1.6 billion based on the design and estimates for the new “dream” city hospital.
Despite best efforts of the public and private donors, including one from Operation Smile, the target amount won’t be reached quickly.
It was also reported that the board of directors set some conditions for donating an amount to the new city hospital, which includes having a say on how the city hospital will be run.
Adding Pangilinan to the mix makes the picture more complex.
Just how would the city hospital be run and how much input do Cebu City residents, let alone Cebu City Hall have in the hospital’s management and policies?
The situation is fluid and it’s not as if the city government is bereft of options. While Pangilinan’s offer may be tempting, a proposal to set up mobile surgical hospitals in trucks was floated by hotelier Manuel Osmeña during the recent Open Collaboration with East Asia New Champions summit.
It’s a good idea considering that Cebu City Hall is up to its neck servicing thousands of indigent patients who can ill afford to be treated at the city’s private hospitals.
Major companies have pledged to spend for mobile hospitals and this—to some extent—along with Pangilinan’s offer is an affirmation about the continuing commitment of the private sector to care for the underprivileged, whose lot was worsened after the October earthquake and typhoon Yolanda last year.
The mobile hospitals would also dovetail with a previous proposal by Osmeña to devolve outpatient care services to barangay health centers to reduce the load on the CCMC staff and facilities.
The Cebu City government should extend its assistance to the private sector in realizing this proposal while doing its part in raising funds and lobbying for more funds from the Department of Health.
It’s time for Cebu City residents to get their own hospital back.
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