THE CebuDoc Group has assured the public that its hospitals are not charging patients for donated personal protective equipment (PPE).
Several private hospitals in Cebu have been accused of charging patients for donated PPEs that were used during the patients' admission. CebuDoc, however, clarified that its hospitals are not part of them.
In a statement released Monday, April 6, 2020, CebuDoc said that at the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis, it has organized a crisis team that meets daily to strategize and prepare for the "fight against this pandemic."
It said company logos on donated PPEs are not removed to "acknowledge the donors."
It added that its staff logs a donated PPE once used for proper monitoring, but charge the patients for the used PPE purchased by the hospital.
CebuDoc said its hospitals only charge the ones directly used for patient care. Other PPEs that are not used in patient care are already part of its operational budget.
"We have been very thankful to all our donors who generously extended help to our frontliners in this crisis. We can guarantee them including the public that all donations are properly accounted for. We have also been very transparent in our social media pages in acknowledging the individuals, organizations and groups who donated," CebuDoc said.
Some hospitals also allegedly did not distribute all the donated food packs intended for frontliners, but CebuDoc said the food donated to the company has been "channeled directly to frontliners."
"We would like to clarify the circulating issues the donations could not reach hospital frontliners are not true to us because we have a very proactive leadership in place," CebuDoc said.
CebuDoc Group has acknowledged that there is a global scarcity of PPE due to the pandemic and said that it has decided to start fabricating its own PPEs, as it is running six hospitals and "cannot depend on donations."
The group added that it is thankful for all the support it has been receiving and encouraged everyone to be united against Covid-19 by staying at home and being healthy.
The CebuDoc Group owns the Cebu Doctors' Hospital, Mactan Doctors' Hospital, Cebu North General Hospital, San Carlos Doctors' Hospital, Cebu South General Hospital and Ormoc Doctors' Hospital.
"To our valued clients and the public, we guarantee the CebuDoc Group is prepared and being one of the biggest providers in the Visayas, we will make sure that our healthcare system will not collapse," it said. (JGS/JOB)