24-hour help desks for poor patients proposed in Cebu

Capitol looks into all-day service in district hospitals, P20-M crisis fund

The Cebu Provincial Board (PB) budget committee is proposing to set up help   desks that operate 24 hours daily  in all  16 district hospitals to service indigent patients.

At present the help desks function from 8 am. to 5 p.m.

“We express concern because there is no existing revolving fund for medicines for indigent patients,” said  PB Member Grecilda Sanchez, committee chairperson.

“We are hoping that those who need medicine but cannot pay for it will not have a hard time looking for ways to pay even during weekends and holidays,” she said.

This would help prevent  cases  similar to the Nov. 7 death of a one-year-old girl due to severe dehydration in the Minglanilla District Hospital. The baby’s emergency   treatment was delayed  because the  family didn’t have P700 to buy dextrose, medicine and a needle.

(Read:Hospital staff ‘failed to care for ill baby’)

The proposal  for longer hours for help desks was made during budget deliberations for the Provincial Social Welfare Development Office (PSWDO).

The office is proposing to increase its  budget of P84 million to P104.8-million  for 2016.

Outlays that will increase next year are the Assistance for Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) from P13 million this year to P20 million next year.

PSWDO chief Rocelyn Zosa said a similar allocation exists in the budget of the Provincial Health Office (PHO).

The only difference is that the PSWDO caters to patients whose cases have been referred to the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) while the PHO caters to those in district and provincial hospitals.

Zosa said the proposal of a 24-hour help desk was but “but it just came out now. We have to work out on the guidelines.”

The PSWDO entertains walk-in applicants and directly pays pharmacies or hospitals for their hospitalization bills.

Zosa   recalled  instances when cash was given directly to beneficiaries but the money usually wasn’t used to buy. This was why stricter regulations were  made in the program.

Zosa said she will consult with Provincial Health Officer Dr. Cynthia Genosolango whether the assistance will be handled by the health office or the social welfare office.

“Offhand, since they already have staff there, they will be in a better position to handle the help desk. One problem is that they are undermanned. Although we have our own staff there, we don’t work for 24 hours,” she said.

Zosa said each  district or provincial hospital has one medical social worker.

She said only five percent of the AICS budget for 2015 remains, all of which had been billed.

“That’s why we increased our budget from P13 million to P20 million because the guidelines we are following are  from 2006. There are also increases in hospital rates,” she said.

Provincial Administrator Mark Tolentino told the budget committee that  frontline medical staff have to be reminded to tell patients that their bills can  be charged to  the AICS fund.

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