Cebu to upgrade medical facilities

THE Cebu Provincial Government has pledged to upgrade the facilities of medical hospitals in the countryside to strengthen Cebu’s position in the medical tourism sphere.

Provincial Administrator Mark Tolentino said they aim to de-clog the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center by strengthening the provincial hospitals in Bogo, Danao, Carmen and Balamban and making 12 other hospitals as referral centers.

Cebu Province has 16 hospitals.

“The strategy is to improve and hire personnel, procure modern equipment and improve the infrastructure,” said Tolentino, during the launch of the ARC Hospitals in Bluewater Maribago Beach Resort.

“When we started, we are basically outsourcing our personnel. But right now, we are to announce that we are slowly moving towards the employment of permanent medical professionals,” he added.

According to Tolentino, upgrading the medical hospitals in the countryside will not only ensure quality health care services for Cebuanos living far from the city, this will also boost the country’s image in the niche market of medical tourism.

Napier Healthcare Solutions Pte Ltd. chief executive officer Tirupathi Karthik, who was at the launch, said medical institutions across the globe should invest in innovative use of technology if it wants to immediately address the healthcare issues in the community.

“Preferences of the people have changed and a lot are already into the digital space. They want information right away, at their fingertips,” said Karthik.

He pointed out that if the country wants to be a leader in the global medical tourism, medical institutions should embrace advanced technologies on top of hiring excellent medical professionals.

Ther lack of investments is one of the country’s weaknesses in capturing the global medical tourist market, said Clarissa Jane Fe, vice chair and dental sector committee of Cebu Health and Wellness Council (CHWC) Inc.

Pe said decades of under-investment have resulted in large deficiencies in both medical facilities and services.

She also cited the continued migration of healthcare workers to the US, European Union and the Middle East that is causing brain-drain as well as the lack of direct connectivity between the Philippines and other countries that makes travel to the country expensive.

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