By CESAR JOLITO III
Negros Occidental Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz II has defended his appointment as officer-in-charge of the Provincial Health Office’s Hospital Operations Services, emphasizing that the position focuses on hospital management and administration rather than the practice of medicine.
Diaz, who was designated by Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson through Office Order No. 63, effective June 16, said his role is aimed at improving hospital operations, strengthening administrative systems, and ensuring healthcare workers can concentrate on patient care.
Lacson’s order authorizes Diaz to oversee the day-to-day operations of the Hospital Operations Services, attend official meetings, act on communications and sign official documents until the designation is revoked or amended.
“This is not a doctor position. What we have here is management,” Diaz said during a press briefing.
The provincial administrator stressed that managing hospitals requires expertise in areas such as finance, legal compliance, procurement, and operations, noting that these responsibilities extend beyond clinical practice.
According to Diaz, hospital chiefs will continue to exercise authority over medical and clinical decisions within their respective facilities.
“The chief of hospital is still the boss of every hospital. My work is to facilitate everything they need in order to expedite, improve and modernize all hospitals,” he said.
One of his priorities is to lessen the administrative burden on healthcare personnel by handling non-clinical concerns that often take doctors, nurses and other medical workers away from their primary duties.
“My promise to them is that they should focus on their profession. I will take away tasks that are not within their line of work so their time can be fully dedicated to patients,” Diaz said.
As part of ongoing reforms, Diaz also announced the continued implementation of the province’s One Hospital Command system, a centralized referral and bed management network mandated under the Universal Health Care Act.
The province plans to enhance the system by introducing a “fast lane” mechanism designed to speed up the transfer and admission of emergency patients.
Diaz said the improvement aims to reduce delays in hospital referrals and ensure that critical patients are immediately directed to facilities with available beds and appropriate services.
“The enhanced setup balances compliance with the Universal Health Care Act and the need for quicker emergency care for Negrenses,” he said./CCJ, WDJ