Instead of traveling to Cebu City to undergo surgery, residents in northern Cebu can now go to the province-run hospital in Danao City to have the procedure done.
Four surgeons yesterday operated on 10 patients with assistance from a US-based volunteer group composed of balikbayan doctors from Danao City at two new operating rooms of the Cebu Provincial Hospital-Danao.
The activity was considered a milestone as the first major surgery done in a provincial hospital in Danao, said Capitol spokesperson Ethel Natera.
A similar operation was held at the Cebu Provincial Hospital – Carcar two weeks ago.
The operating rooms were granted Level 1 accreditation by the Department of Health (DOH) five months ago.
In his speech during yesterday’s launch, Gov. Hilario Davide III said the same services will be offered in provincial hospitals in Bogo City and Balamban.
More doctors and surgeons will also be hired by the province as regular employees to eliminate the practice of outsourcing of medical personnel in district and provincial hospitals, he said.
“We can reduce the number of patients brought to Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center from north and south Cebu. We got consultants, additional doctors who will help us. They will come here on schedule unless it’s for emergency situations because they are on-call,” Davide said.
Surgical procedures were performed yesterday for cases of swelling of the groin (hernia inguinal), removal of gall bladder stones (multiple cholelithiasis), removal of breast mass, goiter and surgery for treatment of rectal cancer.
CPH Danao’s chief of staff, Dr. Prudencio Manubag, four surgeons performed the procedures. The new personnel specialize in obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, internal medicine while others are general surgeons.
The doctors and surgeons were hired as medical consultants by the province and are tasked to report to the hospital every first Saturday of the month.
The doctors also visit the district hospitals in Camotes Island and the provincial hospitals in Balamban town and Carcar city.
Surgeons and nurses of the Danao Association USA, a volunteer group of Danao residents based in the US, helped arrange the activity.
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