Dialysis patients on the waiting list of the Negros Oriental Provincial Hospital (NOPH) will soon receive free treatment through a partnership with a newly opened private medical facility in this city.

Provincial Health Office (PHO) chief Dr. Liland Estacion said Tuesday that MCenter, a privately owned outpatient medical and diagnostic facility, has offered to accommodate NOPH’s waiting list dialysis patients at no cost.

“This is a welcome development because we currently have only 10 dialysis units at NOPH, while about 200 patients are waiting for treatment,” Estacion said.

She said the arrangement would help clear the backlog of patients needing hemodialysis, enabling them to receive treatment sooner and improving access to kidney care.

Estacion added the finer details of the agreement between NOPH and MCenter are still being finalized.

MCenter, the multi-diagnostic facility of Matiao Medical Services Inc., is expected to begin operations in the coming weeks after floor inaugurations last July 26.

Dante Uy Matiao, president of the Matiao Group of Companies, said the facility has 17 hemodialysis machines ready for use.

He said the project expanded from a basic dialysis and diagnostic center into a full-scale outpatient specialty clinic following consultations with MCenter medical director Dr. Kerwin Gubantes.

“We would be one of a kind in Dumaguete because there is no outpatient medical and diagnostic facility like this here yet,” Matiao said.

Gubantes said patients requiring further medical care will be referred to hospitals where many of the MCenter specialists also maintain hospital practices.

Estacion said the facility will complement the province’s healthcare system, describing the initiative as a public-private collaboration aimed at improving access to medical services. (PNA)