City Health Officer (CHO) Dr. Jeia Pondoc and City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officer (CDRRMO) Gerard Lavadia personally welcomed the new sea ambulance coming from the Department of Health (DOH), to Tagbilaran City, according to reports from the City Media Bureau.
About 5 local government units (LGU) across Central Visayas, including Tagbilaran City, were provided with the sea ambulance by the DOH.
Other recipients of sea ambulances from the DOH are the towns of Bantayan, Santa Fe, Medellin, and Daanbantayan all in Cebu province.
The sea ambulance costs around P 3 million, reports reveal.
It is equipped with an ambulance stretcher, automatic external defibrillator, portal suction machine, nebulizer, aneroid sphygmomanometer, stethoscope, oxygen cylinder and examining light, among other pieces of equipment.
The sea ambulance measures 8.8 meters by 2.3 meters and is powered by a Suzuki DF115A outboard motor.
Currently, the use of the sea ambulance for inter-island trips is not yet permitted since the operational protocol and necessary documentary requirements are still being processed by the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) with the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) and Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA).
City Mayor John Geesnell Yap II is grateful to the DOH for including Tagbilaran as among the LGUs that received a sea ambulance.
“This sea ambulance can take patients who got ill on-board a sea vessel to the mainland as quickly as possible where medical emergencies at sea will be immediately remedied. This is indeed a significant reinforcement to our mitigation and response unit,” Mayor Yap said.