South Cotabato to acquire new hospital equipment

GENERAL SANTOS CITY – The provincial government of South Cotabato said it is planning to acquire P40-million worth of additional equipment for the provincial hospital in Koronadal City.

Dr. Rogelio Aturdido Jr., head of the Integrated Provincial Health Office, said the move is part of their continuing efforts to upgrade the provincial hospital’s services and classification as a Level 3 tertiary facility.

Aturdido said the hospital, which has an authorized capacity of 200 beds, is currently listed by the Department of Health (DOH) under the Level 2 status. “We’re working on this right now and we already have the budget for the proposed equipment,” he said.

He said the upcoming purchases include the required equipment for the hospital’s proposed physical medicine and rehabilitation unit.

Based on DOH guidelines, a Level 3 tertiary hospital should have the capability for training or teaching and with accredited residency program for medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, and surgery.

It should also have provisions for ambulatory surgical clinic, dialysis facility and blood bank, as well as established imaging facility with interventional radiology a DOH-licensed tertiary clinical laboratory with standard equipment, reagents and supplies necessary for the performance of histopathology examinations.

Aside from the acquisition of new equipment, the provincial government is currently working on the expansion of its facilities and units. A new four-story hospital building project worth P200 million broke ground on January 31 and is due for completion in two years.

Aturdido said the new building, which is funded by a grant from the DOH, will house the hospital’s enhanced dietary unit, administrative offices, supply unit, operating room, dialysis unit, additional wards and private rooms.

He said it will mainly increase the provincial hospital’s total bed capacity to about 400 beds or double its current status. “We’re currently accommodating an average of 400 patients per day so this will essentially help address our overcrowding problems,” he said. (With a report from Mindanao Examiner.)

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