Senator Idol Raffy Tulfo visited the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) Hospital in San Fernando City, Pampanga last Saturday, July 1, after receiving complaints about the hospital’s poor service and handling of patients.
Tulfo, who was accompanied by Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) USec. Hans Cacdac and Hospital Administrator Dr. Dante Dator, is dismayed to see the hospital’s condition.
He learned that said hospital, which opened last May 1, 2022, has 100-bed capacity, and currently has 46 and 72 employed doctors and nurses, respectively. It has a total of 200 personnel, including laboratory staff and admin staff.
However, Tulfo found out that during the time of his visit, the hospital was only providing in-patient care to two people, one of which is an employee of the hospital and the other even came from a faraway province.
“Kapansin-pansin din na tila ghost town ang gusali sa mga pasyente,” he said.
Tulfo also expressed dismay after finding out that that the hospital’s Outpatient Department is closed during Saturday and Sunday. He was further angered upon learning from one of his staff who tried to get an appointment in the hospital’s online patient scheduling system that the next available slot for consultation is on Oct. 10.
This prompted him to immediately recommend to the hospital’s officials to fix their online portal immediately, stressing that the Outpatient Department should be opened even on weekends to accommodate more patients needing care and attention.
Moreover, among the other things that also caught Tulfo’s attention was the Pharmacy Department, which surprised him because it has no shelves or drawers while the medicines were only placed on trays on the table. He added that the supply of medicines were not complete, especially the important ones like antibiotics.
In his rounds of the different hospital departments, Tulfo noticed that the modern medical equipment of the facility appear unused.
Tulfo eventually lectured the leadership of the hospital to fix their system and work hard. He also promised as the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Migrant Workers that he will provide all-out support, particularly in funding and staffing, for the welfare of OFWs and their dependents.
Sen. Idol said he will return in the coming days to do a surprise follow-up visit in the hospital.
