Go seeks modernized health facilities after COVID-19 crisis

AS the world continues to battle the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, Senate Committee on Health and Demography Chair Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go continues to push for enhancements and modernization of the country’s health facilities throughout the archipelago to address perennial gaps in the Philippine healthcare system felt during the current COVID-19 crisis.

In a Senate health committee hearing presided  by Go on Tuesday, the committee tackled legislative measures meant to enhance and modernize the state of the country’s healthcare system in order to further capacitate health facilities in dealing with public health threats in the future.

“The measures in our agenda today are aimed towards protecting our people from public health threats especially during public health emergencies through building an efficient and effective healthcare system,” Go said.

Among the bills discussed during the hearing were local hospital bills that aim to increase their bed capacities, as well as proposed measures that aim to empower the health department to increase bed capacity and improve service capability in its hospitals, establish quarantine facilities in every region, undertake priority health infrastructure programs and amend the Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act.

“These bills aim to capacitate and improve our health facilities, testing laboratories, and quarantine facilities. We also aim to improve our disease surveillance mechanisms to be better prepared during an epidemic or pandemic like the COVID-19,” Go added.

One of the priority measures tackled during the hearing was Senate Bill 1226, or the proposed DOH Hospital Bed Capacity and Service Capability Rationalization Act, that aims to authorize the Department of Health to increase the bed capacity and service capability of its retained hospitals and to allow it to promulgate evaluation and approval guidelines.

"Tulungan natin ang DOH na maisaayos ang mga ospital nila para mas maibigay sa mga Pilipino ang nararapat na serbisyong medikal, lalo na sa oras ng pandemya tulad ngayon," Go said in an earlier statement.

Another bill that was tackled was SB 1259 or the “Mandatory Quarantine Facilities Act of 2020” which mandates the establishment of quarantine facilities in every region in the country and to ensure their strategic accessibility to a DOH hospital for the safety of the community.

“Nakita naman po natin na ginagawa ng gobyerno ang lahat para rumesponde sa krisis. Nagtayo agad ng quarantine facilities sa iba’t ibang lugar gamit ang available infrastructure na meron na tayo. Pero kung mayroon na tayong nakahandang pasilidad para sa ganitong mga krisis o sakuna, mas mabilis at mas mabisa nating mapoprotektahan ang kalusugan ng kapwa nating Pilipino,” Go said in an earlier statement.

The hearing also tackled proposed amendments to Republic Act 11332, or the “Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act,” to better respond to national emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

“RA 11332 should not just be about reporting the numbers, but ensuring a good system of collecting and reporting of accurate and timely data. Surveillance is a backbone of a good public health system,” Go said.

Go’s proposed amendments to RA 11332 also seek to enhance disease surveillance and control in the country, such as having better capabilities in conducting more testing and intensive contact tracing in times of pandemics.

Go explained further that these measures would help the country face future pandemics and will also complement the implementation of the Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-asa (BP2) Program.

“Once we have well-equipped hospitals with increased bed capacities in the provinces, sufficient medical workers, and proper protocols and infrastructure in place, we can assure Filipinos that a better life is waiting for them wherever they are in the country,” he said.

“Let the pandemic be a lesson to all of us and use this experience to improve our health system,” he added.