The Bacolod Sangguniang Panlungsod Committee on Health is set to hold a hearing on a complaint of an alleged “outbreak of Hepatitis C virus” at the hemodialysis facility of a private hospital in the city.
Councilor Cindy Rojas, SP Committee of Health chair, said on Friday, December 10, that she has set the hearing at the SP session hall at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Representatives of the City Health Office, Department of Health and the City Legal Office, and the stakeholders from both sides have been invited so all sides can be heard, Rojas said.
Rojas said the hearing is being held in response to a letter sent by Alma Lamis Desabille, a representative of the complainants, to Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran.
It was alleged that more than 60 patients were affected, Rojas said.
Desabille, in her letter dated December 6, informed the vice mayor of an alleged Hepatitis C virus outbreak at the hemodialysis facility of the Queen of Mercy Hospital in Bacolod City.
“It has been 5 months since the start of the outbreak, and since then we tried to reach out to the hospital administration to voice out our concern, but our voice seemingly fell on deaf ears,” she wrote.
No action was taken by the hospital administration to aid the patients or to provide assistance, she said.
She said they were seeking the help of the vice mayor so the hospital administration will “deal with the problem and own up to their shortcomings and face the consequences.”
The group wants the hospital to provide financial assistance commensurate to the physical, mental and financial suffering they endured while dealing with the deadly hospital acquired infection, Desabille said.
She attached some of the names and signatures of the patients who were infected while undergoing dialysis at the facility in her letter to Familiaran.
Omar Montejo, BQMH administrator and chief of operations officer, told DIGICAST NEGROS they will issue a response after they investigate the allegation of an outbreak. The word outbreak has to be defined properly, that is a grave allegation, he said.
“Rest assured that the hospital will look into this,” he said.*