THE first state-funded medical College in Central Visayas will be built at the Vicente Sotto Medical Center (VSMMC) in Cebu.

The lack of doctors in every hospitals in Central Visayas is the reason the Cebu Normal University (CNU) and VSMMC College of Medicine will be established in the City.

Medical chief of VSMMC, Dr. Gerardo Aquino, said that there is insufficiency and maldistribution of doctors in the country.

Only in Central Visayas has a doctor-client ratio of one doctor per 28,341 patients, which is far from the ideal 1:100 ratio for Primary Health Care delivery, which is also the goal of the Universal Health Care Act.

“Most of the doctors would opt to work in urban centers, leaving many in the rural areas unable to see a medical doctor easily,” said Aquino.

The CNU and VSMMC administrators met last year to establish the College of Medicine, which is currently in the process of applying for a permit under the Commission on Higher Education (Ched) for its five-year degree program in Doctor of Medicine with Masters in Public Health Governance.

“We target to begin classes in August 2020 at the Medical Center’s Cancer Center while we await for the approval of the budget allocation under the General Appropriation Act in the coming years,” said Aquino

Aquino said they have met with the Ched Technical Committee for Medical Education as a part of the school’s application process.

Students who can avail of the program are the less fortunate and must do a five-year return of service for rural areas government facilities or health centers in exchange for the free admission in CNU and VSMMS. (HBL, RSR)