GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/15 November)– Local government units here and nearby South Cotabato province are deploying medical teams to Leyte and Samar provinces to assist the ongoing medical and relief operations for survivors of super typhoon “Yolanda.”
Rebecca Magante, City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) chief, said Friday the city’s mobile hospital is now on its way to Tacloban City to augment the medical services being provided by the Department of Health (DOH) in the area.
She said the mobile hospital, which was only commissioned by the local government last May, left for Eastern Visayas on Thursday dawn along with its assigned medical team.
“We sent the mobile hospital based on a request from the DOH central office,” Magante said.
She said the team brought along medicines and other related supplies that might be needed by typhoon victims who are either injured or already sick.
The city government acquired the P13.9-M “all-in-one” mobile hospital to bring health services to remote places in the city and the neighboring areas.
The unit is equipped with complete with laboratory facilities, dental section as well as operating and diagnostics rooms.
The city government is also preparing to send some 10,000 family food packs, family sanitary packs and non-food family packs worth P3.5 million to the affected areas through the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
As approved by the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, the local government is also sending P6.5 million financial assistance to the area.
In Koronadal City, City Administrator Cyrus Urbano said the city government has decided to send a 22-person team to Samar and Leyte to assist the government-led relief operations.
He said the team will include medical personnel from the City Health Office as well as relief and tent management workers.
Urbano said the group will be deployed in the affected areas for at least a week, depending on the need and the area’s situation.
South Cotabato Gov. Daisy Avance-Fuentes said the Integrated Provincial Health Office’s mobile clinic and a team of medical personnel will be leaving for Tacloban City within the next few days.
She said the medical team will be deployed to the area ahead of the delivery of the P1 million worth of relief assistance that the provincial government has committed.
Jenny Ventura, health education officer of DOH Region 12, said they will deploy an eight to 10-person emergency and management team to Tacloban City by next week.
She said the team is scheduled to leave for the area on Nov. 17 along with some basic medical supplies and equipment.
“They will also bring some relief supplies that were pledged by our union and some employees,” Ventura said.
She said the team will initially be assigned in Samar and Leyte for one week but their stay might be extended later on. (MindaNews)