• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said yesterday he is now hoping to see “much less” refusal of admission of patients from Negros Occidental to the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital in Bacolod City.
This was stated by Lacson, following the signing of a memorandum of agreement between the provincial government and the Department of Health (DOH).
With the signing of MOA, the CLMMRH will be designated as the Apex Hospital.
“There will be new protocol as far as referral to CLMMRH is concerned. They are not supposed to reject us anymore,” the governor said.
The MOA was signed between Lacson and Health Undersecretary Mary Ann Maestral, CLMMRH officer-in-charge
Dr. Joan Cerrada, DOH Negros Island Regional Director Razel Nikka, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Girlie Pinongan on Oct. 23.
Lacson said that the policy of referral of patients would be studied and agreed upon.
Noting a lot of rejections from admission to CLMMRH before, Lacson said: “Now, with this MOA, somehow it strengthens our connection with CLMMRH. So we hope to see much less refusals.”
Designating the CLMMRH as the Apex Hospital within the province’s Health Care Provider Network, the MOA aims to fully implement the Universal Health Care for residents of Negros Occidental.
Under the agreement, the partnership also aims to ensure comprehensive health care delivery from primary to tertiary levels within Negros Occidental. It also manifests the continued support to work towards realizing the full implementation of Universal Health Care for all Negrenses.
The signed agreement reaffirms the collaboration to meet access standards for health facilities in alignment with the Philippine Health Facility Development Plan, wherein people shall have access to a primary care facility within 30 minutes of travel time and to a hospital within one hour. | GB
