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MANILA, Philippines — A party-list group running in the 2022 national elections is pushing for legislation that will increase the number of government hospitals with intensive care units (ICUs) in rural areas.
According to the ACT As One party-list, creating more hospitals should be a priority especially with the COVID-19 pandemic still raging, as evidenced by the recent surge in infections since the start of January.
The party-list’s third nominee, lawyer Angelo Tapales, said there are stories of how people in provinces have died because health facilities were far from some communities — a problem which can be solved by establishing more Level 2 government hospitals.
“Ilang malulungkot na kwento na ang ating narinig tungkol sa mga kababayan nating binawian ng buhay sa daan o sa biyahe patungo sa isang ospital na malayo sa kanyang tirahan? Ang iba ay sa bangka pa nalalagutan ng hininga habang tinatawid ang karagatan para lamang magpa-ospital,” Tapales said.
“Kaya ang aming panawagan sa ACT As One, batas na magdadagdag ng mas maraming pampublikong ospital na may kakayahang lunasan ang mga severe na cases ng COVID at iba pang sakit. Investment na rin ito sa kalusugan ng mga mamamayan at sa pangangalaga sa kapakanan ng maliliit na komunidad sa bansa,” he added.
The group said Level 2 hospitals will be enough to respond to the pandemic as these will have intensive care units — parts of hospitals that usually deal with COVID-19 patients.
“Hindi kailangan ng Level 3 na ospital sa kanayunan. Pero kung saan may Level 1 na ospital, sana ma-upgrade sa Level 2. At sa mga lugar na talagang walang ospital, sana magtayo ng pasilidad na mayroong ICU,” he claimed.
One example, Tapales said, would be the need to transport patients in Sulu province with severe COVID-19 cases to Zamboanga, because the former does not have a Level 2 hospital
“Isang halimbawa nito ang isang may severe case ng COVID na galing ng Sulu o Jolo. Kailangan pang tumawid ng dagat ang isang maysakit para madala lang sa Zamboanga City Medical Center at maalagaan ng wasto,” Tapales explained.
“Sa pagtatayo o pag-upgrade ng karagdagang Level 2 na ospital, maiiwasan natin ang ganitong mga kwento. Makakapaghatid ng maayos na serbisyong medikal sa mga mamamayan nang hindi na kailangang bumiyahe ng malayo,” he added.
According to the Department of Health (DOH) data as of October 2020, there are 66 DOH hospitals across the country, but the bulk of which are in Luzon, with 38 hospitals. Visayas only has 12, while Mindanao has 16 DOH hospitals.
Healthcare facilities are key to fighting COVID-19, especially in the face of a surge in infections. While infections are decreasing — at only 17,677 new cases on Tuesday compared to highs of over 30,000 during the early weeks of January — the active cases are still high.
As of Tuesday, 247,451 patients are still considered active cases, although a huge bulk of it are either asymptomatic (7,464) or mild cases (235,181).
READ: PH reports 17,677 new COVID-19 cases