Tulfo visits OFW Hospital in Pampanga, says it's like ghost town

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.

Tulfo, binisita ang mala-ghost town na OFW Hospital sa Pampanga

Dahil sa ilang sumbong, sinadya ni Sen. Idol Raffy Tulfo ang OFW Hospital sa San Fernando City, Pampanga noong Sabado, July 1, 2023.

Sinalubong siya nina DMW Usec. Hans Cacdac at Hospital Administrator Dr. Dante Dator. Napag-alaman niya na ang ospital na ito ay may 100-bed capacity. Kasalukuyan, meron itong 46 na doktor at 72 nurses. Sa kabuuan, meron silang 200 personnel kasama na ang laboratory staff, admin staff, at iba pa. Ito'y nagbukas noong May 1, 2022.

Unang bumungad sa kanya ay ang Pharmacy Department at nagulantang siya dahil dinaig pa ito ng isang sari-sari store, walang mga istante at drawer siyang nakita at ang mga gamot ay nakalagay lamang sa mga tray na nakalapag sa lamesa. Maraming kulang na gamot, karamihan dito ay mga importante pa man din, tulad ng antibiotics.

At sa pag-iikot ni Sen. Tulfo sa iba't ibang departamento ng ospital, napansin niya na bagama't moderno at bago ang mga kagamitan dito, tila hindi pa ito nagagamit.

'Di kalaunan, napag-alaman niya sa mga oras na iyon na dalawa lang ang pasyenteng pinagsisilbihan ng apat na palapag ng ospital na pawang in-patient pa. Ang isa ay empleyado pa mismo ng ospital at ang isa naman ay nanggaling pa talaga sa malayong probinsya. Kapansin-pansin din na tila ghost town ang gusali sa mga pasyente.

Nalaman din ni Sen. Idol na kapag Sabado't Linggo, sarado ang kanilang Outpatient Department. At bigla siyang nanggalaiti nang malaman niya sa isa niyang staff na sumubok kumuha ng appointment sa online patient scheduling system nila na sa October 10 pa ang susunod na available slot para makapagpakonsulta doon.

Kaya inirekomenda niyang ayusin agad ang kanilang online portal at dapat buksan na ang Outpatient Department maski weekend para makapag-accommodate ng mas marami pang mga pasyente na gustong magpakonsulta.

Nakatanggap ng pangaral ang mga liderato ng ospital mula kay Sen. Tulfo na dapat agad-agad ay ilagay sa ayos ang kanilang sistema at mag-sipag. Kasunod noon ay nangako rin siya bilang Senate Committee Chairman ng Migrant Workers na magbibigay siya ng all-out support, partikular na sa pondo at staffing, para sa kapakanan ng mga OFW at kanilang mga dependents.

Sinabi rin ni Sen. Tulfo na babalik siya sa mga susunod na araw para magsagawa ng surprise follow-up visit.

Photos available:

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid02RjsVs3JhhxdKQUhm6AQvKJkJ86wMVb6K4i94muchUSTsPLX7pXLkGnZxbHV2wtjTl&id=100044526005687&mibextid=Nif5oz