Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Health chief opposes closure of mental hospital
HEALTH Secretary Francisco Duque III on Monday said he is against a proposal to sell a lot being occupied by the National Center for Mental Health (NCMH) in Mandaluyong City, which would eventually lead to the closure of the institution.
Duque said the selling of the property and shutdown of the hospital would result in the displacement and discharge of thousands of patients and health workers.
He said he would only agree to the proposal if there would be a relocation plan.
Duque also said it would be impossible for them to relocate the NCMH as well as its patients and employees because the government lacks the budget for it. He said with the health department receiving only a P10 billion budget annually, putting up a new facility for mentally-ill patients is impossible.
"It's not just a matter of identifying the properties as possible relocation sites but the deeper problem is where are we going to get the investment since we don't have funding to put up new facilities," he said.
He said he would ask the legal office of the department to meet with officials of the social welfare department to discuss plans that would be beneficial to both parties as well as other legal remedies to prevent the sale of the lot.
Former health secretary Manuel Dayrit earlier agreed to the proposal of selling the NCMH lot.
The Alliance of Health Workers (AHW), for its part, said 4,000 in-patients and 6,000 outpatients served by the hospital per month would be affected should the sale of the property, which is owned by the Manila City Government, take place. (MSN/Sunnex)
(June 14, 2006 issue)
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