Saturday, September 23, 2006 Hospitals, doctors on call for Asean meet
Cebu's surgeons will be “on call and ready” for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit this December, according to the head of the Philippine College of Surgeons (PCS) Visayas Chapter.
“We are very much ready in terms of availability of personnel, should anything happen to the delegates,” Dr. Manuel Villa-mor, PCS Visayas chapter president, said.
About 15 to 20 surgeons from Metro Cebu will be “just a phone call away” during the summit, he added.
PCS Visayas will coordinate with the Emergency Rescue Unit Foundation (Eruf), the Cebu Medical Society and the Cebu College of Physicians, among others, to ensure the delegates are provided with the “best medical treatment” when needed.
But Villamor said “tragic and traumatic incidents” will be the medical team’s main concern and not viral diseases, like flu or common colds.
These may include mauling, vehicular accidents, shooting incidents and, in worst-case scenarios, terrorist attacks, Villamor said.
Equipped
However, he is confident that Eruf and all major hospitals in the province are fully equipped with the necessary emergency medical facilities, including ambulances, which will be ready for dispatch.
“Telephone lines in the hospitals will also be open,” he said.
Villamor reported that triage officers from different medical fields will be standing by to facilitate who among the patients need immediate treatment should there be multiple admissions.
“Should anything happen, triage officers will determine those patients who are in critical danger, those who have a good chance of surviving and those who don’t,” he said.
Villamor is confident, though, that both the local and national governments will highly prioritize the safety of the foreign delegates.
The summit will be an opportunity for the Philippines’ medical society to prove they are at par with those from other neighboring countries and that Cebu can become a medical tourism destination, Villamor said.
He cited Thailand and Singapore as among the countries that are globally competitive in the field of medicine. (MMM)
