• GILBERT P. BAYORAN / RICHARD T. CABALLERO JR.
Amid complaints on the implementation of the One Hospital Command (OHC) system of the Negros Occidental provincial government, Provincial Administrator Atty. Rayfrando Diaz II yesterday said that the problem is not with the system, but within the emergency room triage system of hospitals.
The emergency room triage is the process of sorting patients by the severity of their medical conditions.
Diaz explained that OHC is a tool for organizing hospital referral systems, and optimizing health care delivery, especially during emergencies.
He admitted that there were numerous cases where patients brought in by ambulance were refused admission, due to lack of a referral.
It is very clear that for emergency cases, there is no need for a referral, Diaz stressed.
The problem, he added, is human in nature.
Diaz also stressed that OHC is just an application of computer programming that allows them to determine what hospitals are filled up, or empty, and how its personnel performed. “It should not be used to say ‘No’ to our patients,” he pointed out.
Some mayors have aired complaints regarding delays in the referral system.
Cadiz City Mayor Salvador Escalante Jr, the president of the Negros ACE (Association of Chief Executives), claimed on Tuesday that people have died because of the delays.
When patients are brought to hospitals, they have to wait in tricycles or ambulances, until referrals are cleared, Escalante said.
Toboso Mayor Richard Jaojoco has suggested scrapping the OHC.
If we remove the OHC, we will go back to the time when there was no monitoring and management tool, Diaz said.
Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson has asked Negros ACE to come up with their position on the OHC, in response to complaints aired by some local chief executives.
While the OHC has some good points, Escalante said it needs to be fine-tuned.
He recounted an incident involving a motorcycle accident that was brought to Cadiz District Hospital, which resulted in the victim’s death due to referral system delays. Such cases underscore the urgent need for adjustments within the program.
Despite these issues, Escalante emphasized that the OHC also offers significant benefits, and that immediate action is necessary to address its shortcomings.
Escalante acknowledged that while the initiative has its strengths, it also faces challenges. He pointed out that recent incidents have exposed delays and inefficiencies, particularly during urgent situations.
We just have to improve people in the emergency room triage, which serves as the bottleneck for patients being admitted in the hospital, Diaz said.
With data analytics on how hospitals managed by the provincial government perform in his possession, Diaz said he will present an action plan to the governor on how to address the problem.
Data analytics is the process of examining raw data using statistical techniques, computer science, and visualization to find patterns, trends, and insights, ultimately helping businesses and organizations make better, data-driven decisions, predict future outcomes, and optimize performance. It involves collecting, cleaning, organizing, and analyzing data to transform it from simple facts into actionable information, covering everything from basic reporting to advanced machine learning models.
Diaz reported that the provincial government is spending P1.5 billion for the improvement of health care facilities, equipment, medicine supplies, salaries and benefits of health personnel. What we need is to improve the quality of service, he added.
The provincial government is also improving the service of primary health care units, such as the rural health units, municipal and city health offices, as a first responder to health related services, Diaz said, as he noted that some cases can be addressed at their level.
NEW CADIZ CITY HOSPITAL
In response to the mounting healthcare demands, Cadiz City is moving forward with the construction of its own hospital, costing approximately P270 million.
The project is expected to be completed within 667 days or more than 1 year and 8 months of construction by a local contractor.
“It’s there and we just need to dig deeper,” Escalante stated, highlighting that the city government has secured a loan to fund the new healthcare facility.
This development aims to bolster local medical services and ensure better emergency response capabilities for the community.*
