THE Senate approved on third and final reading a bill seeking to increase the bed capacity of the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital (CLMMRH) from 400 to 1,000 on Monday, June 3.
House Bill 8835 that seeks to increase the bed capacity of the CLMMRH was authored by Bacolod City Lone District Representative Greg Gasataya.
Gasataya said Tuesday, June 4, that the bill is his commitment to the people to improve the quality of healthcare in Bacolod City.
"The regional hospital, which currently has a bed capacity of 400, accommodates more or less 750 admissions every day. That is almost double its capacity. There is need to improve the facilities and personnel of the lone tertiary government hospital in the province," he said.
Gasataya added that the approved bill will be forwarded to the Office of President Rodrigo Duterte for its signature.
Gasataya also expressed his gratitude to Senator JV Ejercito for sponsoring the bill in the Senate, as well as to the CLMMRH medical center Chief Dr. Julius Drilon for their cooperation.
"This is only the beginning of the improvement of healthcare in Bacolod City and that we will still fight for the establishment of a district hospital in the 18th Congress," Gasataya said.
Drilon earlier said on October 14 to 16, 2018, the CLMMRH reported an average of 835 admitted patients per day.
The hospital's bed capacity is only 400 beds. However, it has been constantly accepting patients from various districts of Negros Occidental including Bacolod City which has the highest number of referrals for obstetrics and gynecology cases.
Drilon said it created "overcrowding" in all areas which affected the healthcare service delivery of its departments.
"Bed sharing of two to four patients can be observed in the different wards of the hospital. Such increase in the number of admitted patients has a great impact on the financials of the institution as it doubles its expenditures even though the allocated budget for CLMMRH is only for 400-bed capacity," Drilon said.