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UST Hospital retrenches amid losses from COVID-19, says Philhealth owes it P180-M

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ABS-CBN News

MANILA - (UPDATE) The University of Santo Tomas Hospital has retrenched workers due to financial losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.UST Hospital director Dr. Marcellus Francis Ramirez said they had to &quot;implement manpower reduction measures in order to minimize its expenses and to reduce the significant losses it had been sustaining due to the COVID-19 crisis.&quot;The hospital&#x27;s statement was posted online by the UST&#x27;s official student publication, The <a href="https://varsitarian.net/news/20200503/ust-hospital-retrenches-workers-cites-losses-p180m-owed-by-philhealth#">Varsitarian</a>.&quot;Since the start of the pandemic and the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) and lockdown that followed, the overall hospital census went significantly down. Moreover, most of the patients admitted were CoVid patients. Ordinary and elective patients stayed away from most hospitals even up to now due to fear of possible COVID-19 infection,&quot; Ramirez said.&quot;The huge cost brought about by our contingency measures to address the demands of the pandemic, which included cancellation of elective procedures and admissions to give way to the intensive care of CoVid patients, as well as the tremendous impact on our patient census, is taking a very serious toll on the hospital’s sustainability,&quot; he added.Ramirez also said the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (Philhealth) owes the hospital at least P180 million.&quot;While Philhealth has instituted healthcare coverage of admitted CoVid patients, reimbursement is delayed by an average of 5-6 months. Currently the receivable of USTH from Philhealth stands at more than P180 million and counting,&quot; he said.&quot;Painful decisions were needed to be made. In view of the enormous impact of the pandemic, USTH has to implement the right-sizing of its non-crucial (non-frontliner) manpower complement, in addition to other measures which included adjustment of operating hours and implementation of other cost efficiency measures,&quot; Ramirez added.According to Ramirez, the hospital will be giving employees affected by the retrenchment measures a 150-percent separation pay, as well as a 30-day notice.According to The Varsitarian, The Ugnayang Nagkakaisang Manggagawa–University of Santo Tomas (UNM–UST) held an online protest on Labor Day to call out what it calls as &quot;wrongful termination&quot; being implemented by the management.The UST Hospital Union also expressed dismay at the retrenchment of more than 40 employees.UST Hospital Union President Donald Siazon said the retrenchment news may make the employees lose their focus, with most of them still dealing with the crisis.He added that the employees should not be affected by PhilHealth&#x27;s debt to the hospital.Siazon, likewise, said the members of the union hope to have a dialogue with the hospital management regarding the issue.<div>- with a report from Jeffrey Hernaez, ABS-CBN News</div>

The University of Santo Tomas Hospital has retrenched its workers due to financial losses amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

The University of Santo Tomas Hospital has retrenched its workers due to financial losses amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.