Plan to ‘corporatize’ hospitals welcomed by some doctors

TACLOBAN CITY – The proposal of Senator Franklin Drilon to corporatize the management of government-run hospitals is beneficial to public hospital management.

This was according to top officials of Northern Samar Provincial Hospital when asked for their comment.

Dr Cesar Estanislao said that the proposal of Sen. Drilon would provide positive result to them especially on fiscal management as they would be given autonomy in handling money matters of the hospital.

“The income that we will gain from the operation of the hospital will be retained to us, the idea of corporatizing the operation allow us to act easily on problems that hospital will encounter, unlike in the present situation that our budget would still depend on national government for state-run hospital and local government units for the provincial run hospital,” the hospital officials explained.

“We can easily procure equipment and additional medical needs if government hospital is under a corporate style of management,” Dr Estanislao added.

A bill of this effect is now pending in Congress.

Twenty six government run hospitals are to be affected with the proposed bill to include the Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center in this region.

Corporatizing government run-hospital would not mean privatizing it according to Estanislao but rather it would only adopt management style of a quasi-government corporation just like the operation of other government owned and control corporation, like Philhealth.

The corporatizing of government run hospital according to Health Regional Director Jaime Bernadas means hospital will be converted into a quasi-government corporation because that would result in the elimination of red tape on having to ask approval for the acquisition. Instead, there will be a local board that would manage of the hospital and decisions.

NSPH chief for administration Dr. Catherine Layon-Miral added that this plan of the national government is also supported by officials in the province of Northern Samar.

“We were given update by Congressman Daza on what is the current status of this bill and the governor had assured us, that even bill in approved, the provincial government will continue to budget for the provincial hospital,” said by the lady doctor.

She added that with the income generated by the provincial hospital from the payments of their patients and the funds coming from the provincial government and the congressional district representative, it would ensure that all the needs of the hospital down to the patient need will definitely be provided.

Meanwhile, Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero when he was asked to comment on said issue, the senator said he would like to give a chance for said bill to be implemented but for a certain condition.

“They should have a pilot hospital for the implementation, it should be tested first, before it will be implemented in all state-run hospital,” Escudero stressed.