Wednesday, January 10, 2007 Councilor asks complainants vs. city hospital to show up
SUSPECTING that personal vendetta is fueling the controversies at the Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC), city officials urged complainants within the hospital to come out in the open.
Councilor Christopher Alix yesterday said that if the complainants’ intention is to improve hospital services, then they should present themselves to City Hall and point out the lapses in the operations.
Alix, chairman of the committee on health, and City Administrator Francisco Fernandez said they have yet to hear of any complaint regarding the misuse of laboratory supplies at CCMC.
Supply lacking
The hospital, the councilor said, is not even getting enough supply of reagents, adding that there is no reasoning for employees to hide these.
Alix believes disgruntled employees and those with grudges against hospital officials are behind the anonymous complaints.
“I think this is all just personal vendetta, because if their purpose is to divulge anomalies to help improve the services, then they should come out in the open. Why are they afraid to reveal themselves?” he told Sun.Star Cebu.
Alix doubts some supervisors are hoarding or storing laboratory supplies, since there aren’t even enough to go around.
Appeal
CCMC Chief Myrna Go, in a separate interview, appealed to complainants to personally raise their complaints to her instead of sending anonymous letters to the anti-graft office so appropriate action can be taken.
“I hope these people will come out in the open and not hide under the cloak of anonymity because that will not help solve the problem. Complaints like this usually arise when we start to strictly enforce internal rule, the story becomes twisted,” she said.
Go yesterday sent laboratory chief Promencio Calamba a memorandum, asking him to answer within 48 hours all the complaints raised against his department.
The chief has yet to receive Calamba’s reply but she believes Calamba was only trying to control the release of some supplies, a practice that some employees misunderstood.
Misuse
Employees at the laboratory department have reportedly complained about the alleged misuse of supplies, which were allegedly locked up until these expire.
Disinfectant alcohol was also allegedly diluted with water on the supervisor’s orders.
Alix said he will not investigate the matter on his level since the mayor already recommended the filing of an administrative complaint against Go.
“The mayor has already acted on it, so let’s just wait for the result of that.
Dr. Go may have been remiss in her duty as hospital chief but the one who should be held accountable is the supervisor,” he said. (LCR)
