Philippine General Hospital. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
The allotted funding for new medical facilities under the 2023 national budget will cover the construction of 20-story buildings for four specialty hospitals, according to a lawmaker.
Rep. Elizaldy Co, chair of the House appropriations committee, said the reconciled version of the P5.26-trillion national budget recently ratified by Congress includes P3 billion for the improvement of the four hospitals, namely the Philippine General Hospital (PGH), the Philippine Cancer Institute, the National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI), and the Philippine Children’s Medical Center.
All located in Metro Manila, the hospitals will get P750 million each in funds for capital outlay, Co said.
“We are looking at the medical hotel concept for the realization of the 20-story buildings” the Ako Bicol representative said in a statement on Friday.
Dorm facilities
The buildings will have “10 stories for hospital facilities, five stories for doctors’ clinics and offices, and five stories for dorm facilities for hospital personnel and patients and their relatives-caregivers-watchers during their hospital stay and recovery,” he said. “Add to that several levels for underground parking.”
Co said the funding would also expand the coverage of medical referrals by senators and congressmen, to include referrals to private hospitals through a voucher system.
There will be a separate P540-million funding for the setup of 20 dialysis centers, he said.
NKTI, PGH needs
Late last month, the NKTI administration announced that the facility’s emergency room and other facilities were already operating at three times their capacity and advised patients, especially those in need of dialysis, to seek care elsewhere.
In August, the PGH workers’ union called on the government to double the hospital’s proposed budget for next year to P10 billion instead of slashing it, after some lawmakers suggested cutting the hospital’s budget and put the money in state universities.
Earlier this week, the House and the Senate ratified the bicameral conference committee report on the 2023 national budget. Speaker Martin Romualdez said the bill would be ready for President Marcos’ review and signature by the time the Chief Executive returns next week from his trip to Brussels, Belgium.
Co said other government-run hospitals, including those in the provinces, will also get allocations totaling P3.75 billion for the construction of new facilities.
He said there will be P750 million each for Mariano Marcos Memorial Medical Center in Ilocos Norte, Bicol Regional Hospital and Medical Center in Camarines Sur and West Visayas State University Medical Center in Iloilo City; and an additional P500 million for Cotabato Provincial Hospital in Kidapawan City.
From unprogrammed funds, he said, Mariano Marcos Medical Center will get an additional P500 million, while Ospital ng Tagaytay will get P500 million for its medical arts building which is currently under construction.
“There will be a multiyear hospital modernization program so other government hospitals will also get upgrades,” Co said. ”This shall serve as the centerpiece of a road map for massive public sector investment in public health care nationwide.”
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