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Monday, March 13, 2006
Chief denies mismanaging provincial hospital
By Lory Ann B. Bilbao
ILOILO Provincial Hospital Chief Dr. Noel Icamina defended himself from allegations of his 24 employees that he mismanaged the hospital.
Icamina also welcomes the administrative investigation, which the fact-finding committee recommended after it ruled that there is merit to allegations that the hospital is poorly managed.
"I earlier told Governor (Niel) Tupas, hospital management is different from office management. What is being managed here is three shifts of employees as we are working 24 hours," Icamina said in a radio interview last Friday.
Icamina said it seemed not fair that all these allegations were hurled against him when management is not his job alone, citing that each department has its supervisor and as hospital chief he only supervises them.
"My only job is supervision. I have men who manage different departments like doctors, chiefs of clinic, administrative officer, etc. So, when problems occur in any of the hospital's area, there is a chief in charge in managing the same," he said.
Issues on medicines
Icamina explained that the quarterly budget of their pharmacy is only P410,125.
This amount goes to the purchase of oxygen and nitro oxide, and the rest to the needs of operating rooms and emergency rooms.
The remaining amount at P126,000 is allotted for the pharmacy.
"Our medicines in the emergency room are complete," Icamina stressed.
He said, "We need P5 to 6 million in order to complete the list of medicines in a drugstore."
The amount according to him is not attainable as far as their budget is concerned.
X-ray films
"In our 2005 procurement of X-ray films, all that were being requested by our X-ray technicians were bought. But as to deficiencies, they do not tell us," said Icamina.
He also defended that what Harvey Sevilla, in charge of the X-ray section, needs and asks for were provided.
Icamina further explained that the Provincial Capitol, being the source of fund, holds the amount and all they do is make a request to use their budget for procurement of certain hospital needs.
"We cannot purchase anything without the request of the end users. Then the Capitol pays for these," he said.
He added that the purchases were limited as far as their medical and surgical budget is concerned.
"Our budget for medical, laboratory and surgical is only P552.500 per quarter (or P2.2-million a year). Out of the said budget, P304,855 is used for purchases in the 1st quarter. We bought X-ray films also," Icamina said.
"The remaining P209,000, was used to buy supplies for the operating room. This is where we spend the largest -- emergency room, out patient department, four wards (operating room). When you just think it out, is P209,000 enough? This budget allocation had been running for 10 years now. Maybe they do not understand. However, the Provincial Government cannot be blamed for this budget constraint either," he said.
Limited number of lab exams
Icamina admitted that there is indeed a budget deficiency for laboratory examinations.
He also said this is because they are a primary level hospital where laboratory examinations are indeed limited.
"We are a primary hospital where the only required tests were primary laboratory exams. They cannot compel us to conduct secondary or tertiary ones," Icamina explained.
But he said that despite being a primary level hospital, they have strived to add some laboratory examinations that are required in secondary level hospitals.
"We have laboratory exams required for secondary level hospitals like lipid profile, Kretinin, etc," he said.
Icamina further said the Department of Health had told them that they could apply for secondary level.
Service van
"I requested that van (Pregio van) from Governor Tupas. I said I needed a service at the same time I'll give up my transportation allowance," admitted Icamina.
He said Tupas granted his request and bought the cheapest car.
"It was mainly for my service and as an alternate ambulance if ever our existing L300 ambulance can no longer function," he said.
Quarters
As to the complaints of doctors that they were transferred to cramped and uncomfortable quarters, Icamina said, the doctors could no longer stay in their old quarters, which used to be located in the administration building.
"It cannot be that the duty room is in the admin building because it can't be locked in the evening. So ho could you ensure the safety of the admin building? But they do not believe. The fact-finding did not believe," he said.
Icamina said this does not mean that he doesn't trust the doctors.
Rather, he said, people come and go in the administration building, including patients while they are on duty and this has to be discouraged.
He said in the present quarters, there are four doctors each and the rooms are air-conditioned.
"What more do they want?" he asked.
Lack in nurses
"We do not deny that we lack people. In fact, we are requesting for additional people. But it's not true that the nurse is the only one working in a shift. She is accompanied by a midwife and a nursing aide," explained Icamina.
"As regards to the 1:60 nurse-patient ratio allegation, that's just gossip," he said.
Reappointments
Icamina said reappointments were not part of the accusations, so the committee should have not tackled the same.
He added that while there are irregularities in reappointments, it has caused improvements to the hospital.
"I am surprised that the fact-finding tackled the reappointments. Let us stick to the complaints," he said.
Icamina said he himself requested the governor to pursue an administrative investigation.
He was also the one who requested to be transferred to the Medical Aid Department of the Provincial Capitol in order to avoid intervening in the fact-finding.
(March 13, 2006 issue)
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