The One Hospital Command (OHC) of the Negros Occidental provincial government is laudable and is required in the implementation of the Universal Healthcare Act (UHC), a Department of Health (DOH) official said on Wednesday, Dec. 4.
“This is in line with the Universal Healthcare Act and in fact is one of the key result areas required in the UHC implementation”, which is also already being implemented in other provinces, Dr. Mary Ann Maestral, DOH Undersecretary, said.
The system will assure that when a patient arrives at a hospital he or she will have a bed, Maestral said.
Former Victorias City Mayor Francis Frederick “Wantan” Palanca on Tuesday, Dec. 3, said the OHC in Negros Occidental should be abolished for being “anti-poor”.
Palanca, who is running for governor of Negros Occidental under the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino of former president Rodrigo Duterte, said the OHC was only needed during the COVID-19 pandemic but now that that is over it is no longer necessary.
Patients should immediately be admitted in hospitals without the delay of the referral system, he said.
Negros Occidental Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said the OHC was developed during the onset of the pandemic in order to organize patient referral to a Covid-19 hospital or regular hospital.
After the pandemic the provincial government continued to implement the organized referral of patients, which is in accordance with the letter and spirit of the Universal Health Care Act, he said.
“The DOH has lauded and made benchmarking activities of the OHC” of Negros Occidental, Diaz added.
The OHC is a system designed to allow the Hospital Operations Department staff to receive information about the patients even before they are transported.
”The referral document gives our hospital administrators information on the patient’s condition and his/her needs. Hence, we can match our hospital resources, including doctors and equipment, and direct the patient to the nearest hospital with the expertise and capability to give the necessary intervention. In cases of emergency, patients may be rushed to the nearest hospital without need of referral and the reason is very logical, “ he said.
The OHC has been operated by the department head of the Negros Occidental Hospital Operations Department and a select number of chief of hospitals, Diaz said.
“They act within a few moments from notice of a patient in need of hospital care. Once they assign a patient to a specific hospital, based on their expert evaluation, the ERs, doctors and staff are alerted and prepare even before the patient arrives. The hospital cannot refuse admission as it is a direct command from the head of the HOD,” he added.
“If we abolish this system, we go back to leaving patients to hospital shopping without clear direction where they should seek admission, and are declined sometimes even by just the nurses or the guards during unholy hours”, he said.
“If there are lapses, then the system must be improved. If our hospital administrators are tagged as anti-poor or unkind, then they must also be challenged to improve,” Diaz said.
“But truth be told, Mr. Palanca has no first hand knowledge of our hospital census. All hospitals cater mainly to indigent patients. Seldom do rich people seek admission in our public hospitals. So how can the OHC be anti-poor?” Diaz asked.
Diaz said LGUs must also improve their primary healthcare programs and city health units. “Not everything should be passed on to the provincial government-run hospitals. Otherwise, our hospitals will be overwhelmed and our hospital facilities and personnel may breakdown,” he said.
Dr. Girlie Pinongan, Provincial Health Officer, said they are crafting the OHC referral manual as a requirement in the implementation of the universal healthcare implementation in coordination of the local government units.
The OHC is considered a best practice of Negros Occidental that is being adopted by other provinces, she said.*