GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews / 11 Feb) – The provincial government of South Cotabato has completed around P26.5-million worth of health infrastructure and other related projects last year through a grant from the Department of Health (DOH).
Dr. Conrado Braña, South Cotabato Provincial Hospital director, said Monday the financial grant mainly funded the upgrading and expansion last year of the provincial hospital complex and other facilities of the Integrated Provincial Health Office in Koronadal City.
He said the DOH assistance, which was released under its continuing health facilities enhancement program (HFEP), included the purchase of modern equipment for the hospital.
The agency specifically allotted P20 million for the infrastructure component and P6.5 million for the required equipment, he said.
Braña said among the major projects that were completed under the program last year were the renovation of the provincial hospital’s emergency room and the construction of its wastewater treatment and gym facilities.
He said the hospital’s emergency room underwent a major renovation and its facilities and main sections were upgraded and expanded to accommodate more patients.
“These are now 100 percent complete and fully operational,” the official said in a media forum.
Braña said the DOH recently returned to the local government around P600,000 that it was able to save during the project’s implementation.
He said they allocated the funds for the implementation of additional expansion works at the hospital’s emergency room.
Aside from the P26.5-million grant to the provincial hospital, the DOH approved last year the allocation of P65.4 million to assist the ongoing construction of the Allah Valley Community Hospital in Surallah town.
South Cotabato Gov. Arthur Pingoy Jr. earlier said such funding would be drawn from the agency’s budget this year.
He said the additional assistance was on top of the P28 million earlier pledged by the DOH under the HFEP to help fund the initial construction phase of the project.
Meantime, the official said the provincial government is investing an additional P20 million this year for the continuing upgrading and expansion of the provincial hospital.
Braña said the funds would be utilized for the upgrading of the hospital intensive care unit, laboratory and supply room; improvement of the main hospital building and façade; and the renovation of its pay wing building.
The pay wing building, which was closed down last year due to problems with its roofing structures, will be converted as the hospital’s annex section, he said. (Allen V. Estabillo / MindaNews)