TACLOBAN CITY-- The Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center (EVRMC) is addressing the shortage of doctors working in the state-run hospital by recruiting specialists from other regions.
“We need people to help us even at the regional level, we are short in population to doctor ratio,” EVRMC’s acting chief John Edward Coloma said in an interview on Monday.
Orthopedics, radiologists, oncologists and other specialist doctors whose services are not yet offered at the EVRMC are the ones being eyed to help in the doctor’s residency.
“Currently, EVRMC has 170 vacant positions for medical officers. As far as specialist is concern, we have to hire for 20 new positions,” Coloma said.
More than 200 medical practitioners, excluding physicians are currently working at EVRMC, which does not meet the minimum requirements of one doctor to 25 patients ratio, according to Coloma.
EVRMC is a 500-bed capacity level 3 hospital, but presently serving more than 700 patients.
He said that they also recruited some specialists from other cities like Manila and Davao to help in enhancing training program for doctor residency.
“They are not the government type of specialist, but private specialist who will help us to enhance our training program. We really need stabilize the training program of EVRMC that is the only sustainable system for us to improve our services,” the official added.
The training program will include not only doctors working in government-run hospitals, but also those who work in private hospitals.
“We need to share the manpower from the periphery to regional level, if we are unable to do this to establish the residency, the sustainability of the cardiac center, the cancer center that will soon rise in this complex will not be attained because the doctors that we get are from outside the region,” Coloma said.
At present, the EVRMC has a plastic surgeon, a neuro-surgeon, head-neck surgeon, four orthopedic surgeons with sub-specialties, including doctors in the pediatric care. (PNA)
