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Thursday, August 08, 2002
Council wants board to regulate hospitals
THE City Council is now contemplating on making a regulatory board that will tackle complaints directed to all private and government hospitals and medical clinics in the city.
Councilor Michelle Tagarda said the council should create a board that is similar to the Regulatory and Complaint Board for Moviehouses and Amusement Places, which she chairs.
This way, she said, they could avoid a repeat of the Edito Magsalay incident. Magsalay, a stabbing victim, was denied an operation by the Maria Reyna hospital for failing to pay their P10,000 downpayment.
"This will be the proper body on which an investigation will be conducted on the veracity of complaints," she said.
Tagarda said this way the city government won't have to wait for the Department of Health (DOH) and the hospital before it can act on a patient's complaint.
The councilor said this won't go against the national laws since the proposed board will implement existing national laws.
These include Republic Act 8344 or the Act on Penalizing the Refusal of Hospitals and Medical Clinics to Administer Appropriate Initial Medical Treatment and Support in Emergency for Serious Cases.
Councilor Ian Mark Nacaya agreed with Tagarda's proposal saying the city government should pass the necessary laws to monitor hospitals so they won't be handicapped in dealing with the complaints.
He said whatever the council would do against any hospital, which violated the law cannot be implemented until a case is filed in court or once the DOH investigates the complaint.
Councilor Maryanne Enteria for her part wants to pass a motion to Congress ensuring that private hospitals allocate 10 to 20 percent of its budget to subsidize the indigent patients.
On the other hand, Councilor Juan Sia, for his part, said Congress should invest more on PhilHealth Insurance to assure the poor of their health care benefits particularly in emergency cases.
He said the City Government should set aside P10 million premium a year for PhilHealth, which will cover for all its indigent constituents.
"We should set aside P10 million for emergency cases for any hospitals who are saves life and pay it to PhilHealth," he said.
Sia lamented that most of the laws passed by Congress only deals with the "penalty side and not on the improvement side while thousands are suffering."
"Congress should also approve a P2 billion premium health allocation nationwide," he said. |
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