Top-notch physicians working under the Malacanang medical mission got irked on the lousy service at the Gov. Celestino Gallares Memorial Hospital, venue of the cataract operations which will wrap up today instead of Tuesday.

This development will place the hospital and its officials in hot water after the incident was reported to the Department of Health (DOH) which is expected to send a team to investigate and evaluate the poor services at the government-run regional training hospital.

The Manila-based medical mission team headed by Dr. Federico Malubay has to convene hospital officials led by Dr. Nenita Po after the group could no longer bear the “cold attitude” shown by most hospital physicians to the visiting medical mission group.

The complaints of the visiting doctors reached Gov. Erico B. Aumentado who immediately summoned Dr. Po together with Provincial Health Officer Remoises

Cabagnot last Friday to thresh out the concerns which affected the on-going medical mission.

The governor blasted on air during his “Governor’s Report” radio program last Friday saying he was embarrassed to hear such complaints of an uncooperative attitude of hospital officials and personnel.

An official of the visiting team was quoted as saying:This is not the first time they receive such observations of inefficient service of the hospital.

Gov. Aumentado confirmed this to the Chronicle last night saying he got the same complaints when a medical team from St. Luke Hospital recently visited the province for a medical mission.

During the closed door confrontation between the visiting physicians and the hospital officials, Dr. William Dy, president of the Philippine Academy for Medical Specialists articulated the group’s disappointment on how the

hospital received the medical mission with a “very cold attitude.”

During the meeting, he questioned the hospital chief why he could hardly see the doctors of the hospital since they started the medical mission last Monday. Dy allegedly reprimanded the chief surgeon during the meeting.

“We did not expect such poor reception as we have gone out of our way to help less fortunate brethren here,” Dy was quoted as saying. This is their second time to visit the province and their 69th medical mission nationwide.

In a separate interview, Francisca Baluyot, consultant on health of the provincial government told Pulso radio program over dyRD that she received the same negative observations on hospial personnel.

The medical mission under the office of Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo through the First Gentleman Foundation targeted to handle some 1,200 cataract operations, thousands of others for free fitting and distribution of dentures and surgeries on patients with problems on their myoma, goiter, hernia, cyst, clubfoot and harelip.

However, due to shortage of medical supplies, the cataract operations will wrap up today instead of Tuesday while the number of beneficiaries totaled to 850 plus 300 more cataract patients due for operations today.

In a check made by the Chronicle last night, it was learned that of the 1,200 cataract patients, 70 percent were blind. In fact, one patient who was blind for 15 years was restored of his sight.

“We will leave it up to the DOH to look into this,” physicians said when chanced by the Chronicle past 8 o’clock last night at the hospital. The team in its effort to maximize its number of beneficiaries worked double time even up to wee hours in the morning.

Dr. Malubay said he will be back on June 23 to check the cataract patients who underwent surgeries. (With reports from Chito Visarra)