GENERAL SANTOS CITY—Hundreds of sick and elderly indigent residents in this city and its neighboring provinces of South Cotabato and Sarangani are set to benefit from a grand free medical and surgical mission slated here this week.
Dr. Marinel Lim, chief of the city government-operated Dr. Jorge P. Royeca Hospital, said they are all set for the weeklong medical and surgical mission, which began on January 15 and ends on January 21.
She said doctors from the Operation Bayanihan Medical-Surgical Missions (OBMSM) would mainly perform surgical operations.
The group is a mission arm of the Phil-Am Association of Nevada in the United States.
“This is one of the biggest medical and surgical missions that will be conducted here,” she said.
Lim said they initially opened the prescreening and prequalification of patients for the surgical operations during the first two weeks of January.
She said the operations, which will be conducted at the Dr. Jorge Royeca Hospital, will cover patients suffering from gall-bladder stones, ovarian cysts, hemorrhoids, hernia, myoma, goiter, minor cysts and other illnesses.
The official said actual surgical operations are scheduled from Jan. 16 to Jan. 20, as the surgical team had to conduct the final screening and checkup for the pre-screened patients last Jan. 14 to 15.
The mission team will also provide free medicines to senior citizens.
Harold Aponesto, OBMSM coordinator, said they have not set a limit as to the number of patients that would be accommodated during the mission.
He said prospective patients need to present identification cards or proofs that they are residents of the city, Sarangani and South Cotabato.