Filthy Filipino Hospital Facility

Hospitals in the Philippines are nasty. Just plain nasty. I visited one recently again. Visited a sick man and had a chance to take a look at a hospital I had not yet visited.  Here are some pictures.

It's a truism that you can judge a place by its bathroom. The state of the CR says volumes about any establishment. This hospital's CR was as gross as any other CR in the Philippines. No toilet paper. A shower right next to the toilet so everything gets wet when you bathe. Typical really.

This sign on the wall is almost like a bad joke.

A detailed diagram on proper hand washing but on the sink there is only a tiny little bar of soap and there are no paper towels or hand cloths to dry your hands afterwards. What is the point then?

Despite the tiny bar of soap at least the sink is clean. No rust spots or water discolouration. 

Now let's look at the window.  Very grody.  See that stuff in the corner?  No?

Do you see it now? It's an ant pile! There are ants all over the floor and window in this bathroom.

Both corners of this window are covered in ants. They are crawling from the window to the trash can and back again. Did they janitor not see this? Did he not let his boss know they need to fumigate the CR?

Just as you enter the patient's room you are greeted with this sign:

It's basically a warning that everyone is a thief. That you cannot trust your nurse. And guess where you are supposed to store your stuff. In a cabinet? A closet? No.

You put your belongings in this open shelf where everyone can see your goods! Unless you hide your things under your pillow it will be impossible to not leave your belongings in sight!

Downstairs there is a rather weird cabinet which is a shrine to a surgeon who used to work at this hospital. Just one guy. Not the entire hospital. If the hospital has won any awards they weren't displayed as prominently as this man's many awards.

God's masterpiece? What does that even mean? Your guess is as good as mine.

Thankfully in the lobby there is a huge sign listing all the services the hospital offers.

It sure is a good thing this hospital offers medicine. I was kind of scared that it didn't! Imagine going to a hospital that did not offer medicine! One service not listed is CT Scan and that is just too bad because the doctor told the man I was visiting that is the very service he needs!

Now let me give you a very brief history of this hospital.  Last year it was known as Bacolod Our Lady of Mercy Specialty Hospital and it shut down on August 1st which is exactly one year ago today!

https://www.philhealth.gov.ph/news/2018/own_closure.html

The closure of BOLMSH is a decision that was made by its own Management and not by PhilHealth nor of the Government.

It can continue to exist and operate to serve its local constituencies and for the welfare of its employees if it wants to, even without its accreditation with PhilHealth. 

The denial of their application for continuous accreditation filed on January 30, 2018 stemmed from the fact that the hospital has been convicted twice for committing fraudulent acts which involve padding of claims, misrepresentation by furnishing false or incorrect information, and breach of warranties of accreditation/performance commitment as provided for in Sections 154, 158 and 164, respectively, in the Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (RIRR) of Republic Act 7875, as amended.

This hospital was convicted of fraud twice! TWICE! But who cares!? Because jobs will be lost which is why the Mayor tried his best to intervene.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1039246

“This issue is a matter of public interest and we must explore all avenues to prevent a disruption of health care services and even loss of jobs,” the mayor said during the meeting, which lasted for almost three hours on Friday night at the Bacolod City Government Center. 

Pending resolution of the issues, both parties agreed that the hospital will continue to operate until July 30, 2018, instead of closing down this week.
In a press statement, Lourdes Diocson, PhilHealth regional vice president for Western 

Visayas, thanked Leonardia for “bringing BOLMSH and PhilHealth together to clear up the issue on the closure” of the hospital, whose accreditation for 2018 has not been approved yet. 

“Together, we worked out the options to continue the services of BOLMSH and to ensure the availability of services of the hospital to its clientele,” she said. 

Diocson said the decision on the closure was made primarily by the hospital. 

“The denial of the (PhilHealth) accreditation was because of the conviction of fraudulent activities which were committed in previous years under the previous management, Tiong Bi Inc.,” she said. 

Diocson stressed that the impending closure is not because of the PhilHealth’s failure to pay the PHP25 million dues as claimed by the hospital. 

It was not paid because the accreditation of BOLMSH for 2018 was not approved yet, she added. 

“Everybody was happy after the meeting. It was a win-win solution,” Amante said in a separate statement.

This hospital was convicted of fraud, the Mayor wants it to remain open, he apparently does not bring up the issue of fraud, and somehow it's a win-win situation despite the fact that it still shut down???  But no worries.  With some fancy-schmancy restructuring and rebranding the hospital reopened in January 2019.

https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/1783277

THE Bacolod Queen of Mercy Hospital Inc. is set to open on Thursday, January 17, said its chief operating officer Dr. Wilson Tulmo. 

Tulmo said while the new hospital will use the building of Bacolod Our Lady Of Mercy Specialty Hospital that closed down in July 2018, the Bacolod Queen of Mercy Hospital (BOLMSH) is now under the new management and a new corporation, new personnel, facilities, business permit and registration from the Securities and Exchange Commission.  

He said the new management was able to get the License to Operate (LTO) from the Department of Health (DOH) on January 15. 

"We will now be applying for an accreditation from the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth). This is a different name and a different corporation entirely new," he said. 

“We started from zero. We already have LTO from the DOH and that we will now be applying for an accreditation from the PhilHealth and the accreditation will be retroactive from the date that the DOH LTO was issued,” he added. 

The BOLMSH shut down its operations due to the non-issuance of the hospital accreditation from PhilHealth following lapses of the previous hospital administration. 

Lapses?  Is that what they call being convicted TWICE of fraud? But let's get the perspective of the hospital itself.

The Bacolod Queen of Mercy Hospital, located at the site of the Bacolod Our Lady of Mercy Specialty Hospital that closed down last year, will be operated by an entirely new company, Dr. Evangeline Johnson, its consultant and spokesperson, said yesterday.  

Her son, Lucho Giron, is the president and chief executive officer of the Bacolod Queen of Mercy Hospital Inc., the company that will operate it.

The Bacolod Queen of Mercy Hospital’s vision and mission is to serve patients, especially the underprivileged, with loving care at compassionate and affordable rates, Johnson said.  

“You can entrust us with your lives because we take them seriously,” she said, pointing out that the hospital has a very strong management team and brand new equipment. 

Giron is the majority shareholder of the firm running the hospital that has four other members of the board. There are two women who do not wish to be identified and engineer Edgardo Bayog and lawyer Robert Camarista, Johnson said.  

“It’s still a closely held family corporation, we don’t have partners here,”Johnson said. 

http://www.visayandailystar.com/2019/January/16/topstory2.htm

I don't even want to investigate anymore.  It should be clear by now that Philippine hospitals are all about milking that money from PhilHealth which is a corrupt agency anyway. And this hospital, despite the closure and reopening, is still filthy!