THE Cebu City Government has endorsed a resolution asking the Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC) to conduct a thorough investigation on the alleged anomaly concerning an employee who offered to provide an anti-tetanus shot from his or her own personal stock for a price of over P1,000, or 10 times the market price, Cebu City Councilor Mary Ann de los Santos, the former deputy mayor for CCMC, told SunStar Cebu on Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2023.
De los Santos said she came to know about the anomaly after reading the July 21 column of Frank Malilong Jr. in SunStar Cebu (published online on July 20). She wanted to know what was really going on at CCMC, so she endorsed a resolution to investigate the matter.
“I want to know the truth and the other side of the story,” she said.
Kenneth Siasar, former CCMC administrator, told SunStar Cebu last Wednesday that during his tenure with de los Santos, they established a bidding committee.
Siasar said this committee was made up of chairpersons from various departments and was directly linked to the City Government’s bidding committee.
He said that during that period, no transactions involving medical supplies were conducted by medical personnel or other workers.
“Everything will go through the committee,” he added.
Siasar admitted that there were times when the hospital ran out of certain medicines during their tenure. However, they were able to find a solution.
“When purchasing medicines and other supplies, we considered the consumption needed for that year by examining the top 10 illnesses of the year,” he explained.
He said that after conducting a census of their patients, they also considered the most consumed medicines for that year.
“Somehow, we already predicted the number of medicines needed based on the top 10 illnesses that required the common medicines,” de los Santos added.
Sonia Empinado, CCMC hospital administrator, told SunStar Cebu last July 23 that an investigation into the matter was underway.
The investigation came after Edwin Veloso, a grandfather, reported that an employee of CCMC offered to provide an anti-tetanus dose from his or her personal stock for a price of over P1,000, after saying that the hospital itself had run out of stock.
In his column, Malilong wrote that Veloso had brought his grandchild to the CCMC for an anti-tetanus shot after the child accidentally punctured himself with a needle.
“Finding the price prohibitive, Veloso said they left the hospital and brought the child to their barangay health center where he finally got injected with a vaccine that they bought from a drug store for a little more than P100,” Malilong wrote.
Empinado assured that the hospital has supplies of vaccines such as tetanus toxoid (TT) and tetanus immune globulin (TIG).
She admitted that there were times when the hospital ran out of tetanus toxoid; however, she said their stock had since been replenished.
In the Drug Price Reference Index that can be accessed on the Department of Health’s website, Tetanus Toxoid 40 IU (5 lf)/0.5 mL, 0.5 mL suspension for injection ampule is listed as having an acquisition cost of P43.30, while Immunoglobulin, Tetanus 250 IU/mL, 1 mL solution for injection vial is listed as having an acquisition cost of P865.15, based on the various prices at which these were acquired by various hospitals in the country from various suppliers. (with CTL)