DIGOS CITY - The Department of Health (DOH) has officially declared the downgrading of the Davao del Sur Provincial Hospital (DSPH) from a Level 2 hospital to an infirmary category. In a letter dated Jan. 24, 2022, Dr. Teodora M. Eugenio, OIC-Director of the DOH Health Facilities and Services Regulatory Bureau (HFSRB), informed Dr. Jaime Marcelo Razo, Davao del Sur Provincial Hospital chief of office, that the DSPH has been downgraded to the infirmary class. Eugenio, in her letter, said the DOH-HFSRB had sent a letter through e-mail on Jan. 14, 2022 to Razo regarding the status of the DSPH hospital renewal application for the year 2022 and gave a compliance period of six days to settle all the noted deficiencies. However, based on the copy obtained by the media, the administrator of the provincial hospital failed to submit all the requirements within the specified time frame, prompting the DOH-HFSRB to issue the new category for the DSPH decreasing its capability to infirmary level. The DOH-HFSRB office said it received some documents from the DSPH and upon review, the folder only included the self-accomplished ambulance service assessment tool; a proof of registration to hfpa@doh.gov.ph (pricing of services such as laboratory); and a copy of the license to operate for the calendar year 2021. Eugenio said the administrator of the DSPH failed to resolve other requirements such as the copy of the official receipt from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the renewal of X-ray facilities and pharmacy wherein it lacks a self-assessment form for medical X-ray for quality assurance and control, and calibration of the mobile X-ray machine. The DSPH also failed to post its services' prices to hfpa@doh.gov.ph as required by the DOH, and the ambulance service assessment tool wherein the available ambulance is still specified as Type l, and there was no proof of compliance being submitted that the ambulance is Type ll. "With your non-compliance to the abovementioned requirements, we regret to inform you that your hospital functional capacity is hereby downgraded from Level 2 to infirmary. Should there be any concerns, please do not hesitate to contact our office at (02)651-7800 loc. 2509-2512," Eugenio said. A copy of the new category for the DSPH was also sent to its administrator, duly signed by lawyer Nicolas B. Lutero lll, specifying that the DSPH is categorized as an infirmary from January 20 to December 31, 2022. The hospital is owned and operated by the provincial government of Davao del Sur. On the other hand, Governor Marc Douglas Cagas in a public statement on Wednesday blamed the DOH for the situation, saying the hospital chief did not receive any notice on the requirements subject for submission to the agency. Cagas said the e-mail was sent to Hospital Administrator Wilrose Bismanos on January 14 informing them of the hospital's deficiencies and its six-day period to comply. He claimed that Razo did not receive the notice or even a copy of it. In a media interview, Dr. Annabel Yumang, the DOH-11 director, confirmed the downgrading of the DSPH hospital from Level 2 to infirmary but refused to comment on the matter. She also confirmed to have received a copy of the order from the DOH Central Office. The DSPH is the only Level 2 government hospital in Davao del Sur serving the entire province and neighboring towns outside its jurisdiction. (PNA) }