Lack of medical personnel stressed
With the improved facilities and equipments of the Laoag City General Hospital (LCGH), hospital chief Dr. Elizer Asuncion said that the number of patients admitted at the said hospital had increased. With the increased number of patients at the LCGH, Asuncion said the lack of hospital personnel had been stressed. Hospital records show that the LCGH only has four nurses, four nursing aides, four doctors, and a medical technologist. Other employees of the LCGH are under the administration department. With this number of medical personnel, only a nurse, a nursing aide, and a doctor are available every shift. The hospital has shifts of 7 am to 3 pm, 3 pm to 11 pm, and 11 pm to 7 am. In the staff meeting conducted by Laoag City Mayor Michael V. Fariñas on July 11, Asuncion reiterated his request to the mayor for the additional personnel at the LCGH. The Ilocos Times learned that this request had been tendered a long time ago but the Sangguniang Panlungsod has yet to act on the matter. According to Fariñas, the council may find the proposal to create additional positions at the LCGH “not important,” but he also expressed hopes that the council’s committee on health would be able to find ways to solve the personnel problem at the LCGH. “Kasanu ngarud nga ipaay tayo iti napintas a serbisyo dagiti tattao no agkur-kurang met iti tao a mangasistir kadagiti agkasapulan ket sapay la kuma ta ikkan dan ton (How would we able to provide better services to the people when there is a severe lack of personnel to assist patients at the hospital, which hopefully they would resolve soon),” Fariñas said. Meanwhile, Councilor Primo Jay S. Ramos, committee on health chair, admitted that the ordinance for the creation of additional positions at the LCGH had been deferred temporarily since the 45 percent personnel services had been reached. Ramos clarified that he was in favor of the creation of additional positions at the LCGH as he finds this a very “pressing need” at the city hospital. Ramos vowed to look into the matter after he was informed that the hospital’s admittance of patients had increased for the past weeks. Dominic B. dela Cruz
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