Senate approves 3 bills increasing bed capacity of gov’t hospitals

The Senate on Tuesday approved on third and final reading three bills seeking to increase the bed capacity of three government hospitals in Zamboanga City, Surigao del Sur, and Mountain Province.

Senator JV Ejercito, chair of the Senate Committee on Health and Demography, said the passage of House Bill Nos. (HBN) 6114, 6742 and 6621 would enable the said hospitals to better serve the people in these provinces.

HBN 6114 would double the bed capacity of Luis Hora Memorial Regional Hospital in Bauko, Mt. Province to 200 from its 100 beds, while HBN 6742 would increase the bed capacity of Zamboanga City Medical Center in Zamboanga City at 800 from its current 500 beds.

Likewise, HBN 6621 would increase the bed capacity of Adela Serra Ty Memorial Medical Center in Tandag City, Surigao del Sur for a period of five years as determined by the Department of Health.

Ejercito said that the increase in hospital bed capacity “is an increase in the trust of our people in our public hospitals.”

He also noted that the country needs an additional 42,856 hospital beds to achieve the ideal ratio between hospital beds and the population.

The country only has 88,394 (67 percent) of the 131,250 beds required to achieve the ideal ratio, the senator added. /ee