CCMC file photo.
CEBU CITY, Philippines— Cebu City Councilor Mary Ann de los Santos, on Wednesday, August 2, 2023, passed a resolution requesting the administration of Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC) to look into an apparent anomaly occurring there.
The councilor claimed this was in reference to purported instances in which some CCMC employees allegedly victimized patients and their families into buying expensive medicines.
De los Santos, in her resolution, cited the column of Atty. Frank Malilong, published in a newspaper in Cebu last July 20, 2023.
Malilong’s column tackled an “alleged anomaly that is supposedly happening in the Cebu City Medical Center. This, reportedly, was conveyed to him by a certain Edwin Veloso who bought his grandchild a few weeks ago to CCMC for an anti-tetanus shot after the child accidentally punctured himself with a needle.
De los Santos said Veloso claimed that they had to wait long before the child could be attended to by a medical worker, only to be told by the latter that the CCMC had run out of tetanus vaccine.
However, the CCMC employee allegedly told them that he has his own personal stock which the child could have for P1,000+. Finding the price prohibitive, Veloso said they left the hospital and brought the child to their barangay health center where he finally got injected with a vaccine that they bought from a drug store for a little more than P100.
“The alleged incident, no matter how isolated perhaps, constitutes not only a grim reminder of the pathetic state of the CCMC but also reflects serious management lapses,” de los Santos said.
“It behooves upon the city government that the alleged incident be investigated thoroughly,” she added.
The city council passed the resolution and agreed that there should be a reply to the council from CCMC within 15 days. /rcg
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