REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

The quality of public health is a major policy issue in every country, whether

developed or developing. Citizens demand that a portion of the taxes they pay be returned to

them in government hospitals and clinics staffed by government doctors and nurses,

immunizations and protection against epidemics, inexpensive drugs, health insurance, and other

public health services.

Medical centers are the place devoted primarily to the maintenance and operation

of facilities for diagnosis, treatment and care of individuals suffering from illness, disease, injury

or deformity or in need of obstetrical or other medical and nurse care (DOH, 2010).

Medical Center plays an important role in the health care system, in which its

primary mission is to respond to urgent health problems of the population through effective

efficient quality care (Andres, 2011).

According to Avestruz (1994), medical center are very important institution for

the economic and social well- being of the society. Their curative and rehabilitative functions

enable them to restore individuals to being productive members of society and for those

individuals to enjoy the benefits that can be derived from the success. The success of the medical

centers in their mission is therefore important.

 It is recognized that in both developed and developing countries, the standard of

health services the public expect are not being provided. A very high proportion of the population

in many developing countries especially in rural areas, do not have any access to health services,

which can be used by only the privileged few and urban dwellers.

Although there is the recognition that health is a fundamental human right, there is

a denial of this right to millions of people who are caught in the vicious circle of poverty and ill-

health. In short, there has been a growing dissatisfaction with the existing health service and a

clear demand for better health care.

The victims of poor medical care are those who have to rely on government

hospital, which are overcrowded, short staffed and have meager funds to provide for medicines

and health supplies (Saeed, 2005).

The Davao Oriental Provincial Hospital is a Capitol-run medical center in the City

of Mati that gives elevated quality restorative consideration to poor patients who can't manage

the cost of the administrations of private doctor's facilities. The Hospital is complete with

medically advanced equipments and state-of-the-art facilities, and is complemented by a team of

highly skilled and experienced doctors and medical professionals.

The clinic began its operation on July 1, 1971 with just 25 beds in a leased

working in Panamin, Barangay Matiao in Mati, Davao Oriental with Dr. J. Antonio Tagabucba as

head of the doctor's facility. By the turn of 1976 in January 1, the healing facility had obtained its

present area, a five-hectare land gave by General Hans Menzi, and the limit was expanded to 75

beds. The new modern Davao Oriental Provincial Hospital has 200 bed rooms which were

accomplished.
 The Davao Oriental Provincial Medical Center (DOPMC) which caters mostly

Matinians with increasing number of poor families are mostly ill-equipped, with inadequate

supply of drugs and medical supplies. Private hospitals that provide better health care are beyond

the reach of the poor.

As stated by Muthoni et al (2014), crowding in the medical center causes a

series of negative effects such as medical errors, poor patient treatment, and general patient

dissatisfaction. The number of patients in the hospital has recently increased in most

industrialized country which leads to discrepancy of supply and demand (Wargon and Casalino,

2010).

Overcrowding is a system problem. It varies by province and region but is an

issue across the globe. Patients must often wait hours before being seen by a doctor and far

longer before being transferred to a hospital bed. This result is not merely inconvenience but

rather a degradation of the entire experience quality of care suffers, and patients safety is

endangered. The root of overcrowding in most province medical center is the lack of availability

of acute care beds or hospital wards. Increasingly hospitals have more patients that need acute

care beds than there are beds to accommodate them.

To cope with this situation, acute care stretchers in the Emergency Department

and are kept in emergency departments as corridor patients. The direct result is a block to

access of care in the Emergency Department and increased Emergency Department wait times.
 According to POPCEN (2000), among the 11 municipalities comprising Davao

Oriental, Mati, the provincial capital, was the highest in terms of population. It was followed by

Lupon, Baganga and Governor Genoroso. Boston had the smallest population. As of August

2015, the total population of Davao Oriental was 558,958 based on the 2015 Census of

Population (POPCEN 2015).

The scope and emphasis of a public health program are necessarily influenced by

the changing characteristics of the population it serves. The rate of population growth affects

long-range planning of community health and medical facilities. Therefore, the rapid growth of

population is proportional to its need of health services.

the government is primarily responsible for the provision of healthcare. The government

institutions principally cater to the needs of mass population at subsidized rates. Since the

patients are in great numbers, and there is a shortage of the facilities available, the quality of

healthcare provided by the Government is not satisfactory.