Baraan hits lies about provincial hospitals
LINGAYEN— Not true!
This was the angry reaction of the provincial government to a news report published in a national daily last week that labeled the province’s hospitals as “in very bad shape” and went on with the conclusion that “if you are sick, don’t go to a hospital in Pangasinan”.
So when Governor Amado Espino Jr. delivers his State of the Province (SOPA) address on January 30, he is expected to highlight the administration’s achievements in health care services.
Provincial Administrator Rafael Baraan, in a press conference attended by the heads of the 14 government-owned hospitals in Pangasinan, angrily tagged the report as “malicious, unverified, opinionated and written by somebody from Mars”.
Baraan said the story was evidently based on a Commission on Audit (COA) report that was taken out of context.
He clarified that the COA report simply identified steps on how the provincial government can further enhance its public hospitals that have undergone major improvements since Espino assumed office in 2007.
Baraan pointed out that the report was baseless since health care has been a top priority for the administration, as proven by the continuous upgrading of the hospitals, PhilHealth insurance coverage, and services to maternal patients.
“But since the provincial government’s money is not enough, rehabilitation and upgrading are done step-by-step and is still continuing in some of these hospitals until now,” Baraan said.
He added that 28 percent of the provincial budget is spent on health care, which is much higher than the national equivalent’s 19 percent.
Dr. Anna de Guzman, provincial health officer, said the province has so far spent P384.24 million for the 14 hospitals as she cited that the occupancy rate of the hospitals has risen to 130 percent as compared to only 57per cent in 2007.
Dr. Jackson Soriano, PPH chief, said that the hospital registered 27,339 in-patients and 55,834 outpatients in 2010.
De Guzman also pointed noted that Pangasinan is the only province in the country that operates its own 14-station dialysis center located at the Pangasinan Provincial Hospital (PPH) in San Carlos City.
The Medicine Drug Warehouse, the first of its kind, is also 90 percent complete at the Lingayen District Hospital Compound.
With the repair and rehabilitation of hospitals almost completed in 2010, the provincial government has ordered and purchased equipment, including a cardiac monitor, ultrasound machine, 3-D echo, stress machine and digital X-ray machine, among others. (with report from Venus H. Sarmiento, PIA-Pangasinan).
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