DAVAO CITY—One of only two hospitals in the city of Butuan will remain open pending resolution of a motion for reconsideration that hospital owners filed on an order by the Department of Health (DOH) to close the hospital down for a month.
Dr. Juan Delfin Garcia, spokesperson and chief of clinics of the Butuan Doctors Hospital (BDH), said BDH continues “normal operations” as hospital officials await a ruling on the motion for reconsideration that they filed against a closure order issued by the DOH’s Health Facilities and Services Regulatory Bureau.
“It has come to our attention that the suspension order has caused panic among our patients and the public in general,” said Garcia. “We assure everybody that BDH is contesting the order and until the same is resolved with finality, BDH will remain open to serve the public.”
The DOH bureau order stemmed from a complaint filed by the parents of a 10-year-old girl who claimed that BDH denied their child admission because they could not pay a P30,000 deposit.
The parents brought the child to BDH from the San Francisco Hospital accompanied by nurses.
The parents alleged that after they were turned down at BDH for failing to pay the deposit, they were forced to travel to Davao City to seek treatment for their child, but the child died along the way.
BDH denied refusing to admit the child, saying the parents had inquired about how much it would cost to have the child admitted in BDH and, after being told of the projected expenses, left the hospital.
Republic Act No. 8344 makes it unlawful for hospitals to demand deposits or advance payments before administering medical treatment to patients in emergency cases.
Garcia said the hospital remains open while awaiting DOH action on the motion for reconsideration.
“BDH has 15 days to appeal the order, within which time, the order cannot and should not be implemented,” said Felipe Macahilig, BDH counsel.
Garcia said Butuan City officials had expressed concern over reports on the closure of BDH, one of only two tertiary hospitals in the city and the region of Caraga.
BDH had informed the city mayor, Ferdinand Amante Jr., of the DOH order and the mayor, according to Garcia, had written a letter expressing concern. The closure of BDH, the mayor said, “will have grave consequences on the city’s and region’s medical care system.”
The other hospital in Butuan City, the Butuan Medical Center, is run by the local government and serves up to 200 patients daily, a number that is double its bed capacity. Germelina Lacorte, Inquirer Mindanao