THE closure of the Bacolod Our Lady of Mercy Specialty Hospital (BOLMSH) may be before the month’s end.
The administrative personnel of the hospital told SunStar Bacolod that as of Thursday, June 21, there are less than 20 patients left in the hospital and that once all patients are discharged, the hospital will close then.
Though the hospital has issued the 3-day termination notice to its 401 employees.
The personnel said that the Negros Healthcare Management Systems Inc. (NHMSI) has no plans to file a motion for reconsideration on the suspension of the hospital's accreditation to the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth).
"It's Tiong Bi Inc. that should make the appropriate move or appeal to PhilHealth because the reason for the suspension of the hospital's accreditation happened during their management," the personnel said.
The suspension of the Philhealth accreditation is due to the alleged padding of claims for cataract operations that happened in 2007.
NHMSI started its five-year lease contract with Tiong Bi in 2014 that will end in December this year.
"The NHMSI will appeal to PhilHealth for the release of its claim from March to May this year amounting to P25 to P35 million,” the personnel said.
The Negrense Dialysis Group, in their letter asking the intervention of President Rodrigo Duterte, said the denial of the hospital's PhilHealth accreditation stemmed from the fact that there was a case filed by PhilHealth against Tiong Bi Inc., the previous owner of BOLMSH.
"NHMSI is a distinct and separate entity but PhilHealth denied its accreditation," Gregorio Gustilo, President of Negrense Dialysis Group said.
He said they are conducting an ongoing signature campaign among the 231 dialysis patients who will be displaced from the closure of the hospital.
"We, the patients, are concerned, confident and relied so much on the expertise and reasonable prices that this hospital is charging poor patients like us and who are all members of Philhealth", they stated.
In his letter addressed to Duterte dated June 20, Gregorio Gustilo Jr., a patient at BOLMSH, said that they are appealing for Duterte's intervention.
"NHMSI is a distinct and separate entity, but PhilHealth denied its accreditation," he added.
Gregorio noted that the denial of the accreditation will cause huge losses to the hospital which will displace patients, especially the 231 patients undergoing dialysis.
“We, the patients, are contented, confident and relied so much on the expertise and reasonable prices that this hospital is charging poor patients like us and who are all PhilHealth members," Gregorio said.
"Please Mr. President, help us by convincing PhilHealth to reconsider its decision and grant accreditation to BOLMSH- NHMSI for it to continue operating and to pay the P25 million due from March to May 2018," he said.
He added the BOLMSH is the hospital for the poor. With its closure, the whole community of Bacolod City and Negros Occidental will surely suffer, more so with the coming dengue fever season.
"You are our only hope, Mr. President because we know that you are a pro-poor person and would do everything to help us," Gregorio said. (with reports from Merlinda A. Pedrosa)