The city hall building of General Santos City (PNA GenSan file photo) GENERAL SANTOS CITY - Officials here are pushing for the accreditation of the city hospital into a Level 2 facility before the end of the year. Dr. Ryan Aplicador, chief of the city-run Dr. Jorge P. Royeca Hospital (DJPRH), said on Tuesday they are complying with the remaining requirements by the Department of Health (DOH) for the upgrading of the hospital's classification. He said this would entail the continuing improvement of its vital facilities, including its laboratory and medical service units. The official said they formally sent a letter of intent with the DOH central office's licensing division for the hospital's Level 2 screening and accreditation last July 15. He said the agency's inspection team recently visited the hospital and noted the other needed improvements to complete the process. "We were given 30 days to comply with the remaining requirements and get our Level 2 accreditation," Aplicador told reporters. He said they earlier made a checklist of the Level 2 requirements, which includes the hiring of needed personnel and upgrading of the facilities, including the intensive care unit (ICU). In an earlier report to the city council, Aplicador said the hospital's operations are divided into four departments --internal medicine, surgery, obstetrics, and pediatrics. He said the hospital has sufficient items for nurses and only needs to hire medical experts, especially the fellows or diplomates of various fields. Based on the DOH's classification standards, a Level 2 hospital should have completed the basic requirements for a secondary level facility; departmentalized clinical services; and, operational units for respiratory, general intensive care, high-risk pregnancy, neonatal intensive care, tertiary clinical laboratory, blood station, and a second level X-ray with a mobile unit. The DJPRH is classified as a 100-bed Level 1 facility with an ICU and has been operating beyond its capacity. It operates a dialysis center, a molecular laboratory for emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, and a treatment facility for moderate to severe coronavirus disease 2019 patients. The city government has allotted some PHP40 million for the establishment by next year of a treatment facility for medical wastes generated by the DJPRH and other hospitals in the area. (PNA) }