PNP turns to Makati Med group for Crame hospital upgrade

A PPP or public-private sector partnership is in the works between the Philippine National Police and the Makati Medical Center Foundation for the much-needed upgrade of the PNP General Hospital in Camp Crame, Quezon City.

The hospital’s chief, Senior Supt. Arnulfo Billote, said the PNP was hoping to have an agreement signed next month for the foundation to help raise the hospital’s current Level 2 classification to Level 3.

The hospital currently has a 250-bed capacity. Doubling that number is among the requirements for the hospital to earn a Level 3 classification from the Department of Health, Billote said. The upgrade would also enable the hospital to offer education and residential training.

It is also hoped that the partnership would address the lack of hospital equipment, especially for CT (computerized tomography) scanning, MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) and angioplasty, among others.

The medical facility caters to active PNP personnel and their dependents free of charge, and charges a minimal fee from patients referred by other government hospitals.

Asked if the upgrade under the PPP would result in higher fees, Billote did not give a direct answer but said the PNP would request the foundation to retain the free services for police personnel.

From January to June this year, the hospital served a total of 1,809 in-patients, 51,458 outpatients, and 4,088 emergency cases. Jaymee T. Gamil