Elr llLanila @itnes
THURSDAY FebruarY tl, zozo
Senate panel OIG bills
upgrading hosPitals
THE Senate health and dernogra-
Dhr- committee, chaired bY Sen.
ihrirrooher Lawrence "Bong"
Co. approved on WednesdaY
'measures that seek to uPgrade
some provincial hosPitals and
esrablish nerv ones
During the hearing, Go said
he sarr' rhe need to imProve
the country's health facilities
during his frequent visits to
govemment hospitals.
He also cited data from the
Depanment of Health retlecting
the dire need ofgovernment hos-
pitals to increase bed caPacity
"The country has a 1-is-to
1,083 bed-to-population ratio.
This is beyond the recomrnended
ideal target ratio of 1isto 1,000,"
Go said, adding that the govern-
ment needs 131,250 beds to
reach its target.
"Currently, we have 88,394
beds or 67 p€rcent of th€ tar8€t
ln 2018, almost 65 Percent of
public hospitals were overcrorvd-
ed," he added.
"ln light ofthe outbreak of the
novel coronavirus, the readiness
of our government hosPitals to
pror,ide quality, available and
efficient health sewiceswas high-
lighted," the senator said
The bills taken uP and aPProved
| &qe'A't'/
:: . : :
by the Senate's heal;-
pienary deliberal:ci! - l':
House Bill [HB) iii:
----..
-::
to rename the Tal:!:'' - : -:
Hospital in Talisr ai: : .
Cebu South ,\1ecr.i -'l--.. -
1477, i{hich see-Li :, - : ::.
the Caraga Regic:ll :::: = :.
Suri8ao Ciq' inlo e :.:-r-. -,: -
-
and increase i'J :€J. ::: -: :
500i HB 831 and :.::::;:. :=
u'hich aim to irika ;a lia :::::-
it,v fa:::.: ::
of the Bicoi \1<c:.:-
Naga Cin ftom 1.'. . r
5tl; r'r
24{4,lrhich seek to 6i::, .r ;:
Bicol \\:omen's and Cl-.:.t:-,
Hospital; HB 56;l lihi- '..-
toupgrade lhe \laria L : .:':l
Distria Hospital in t: " -:.::
palitv of Tagka\{a!a: :r- (:---:
prolince; and HS :S-- tr:.i-
seelc to establish tle :<r:1. - ..1'
dent Nepuli-\. Conzies C::e::l
Hospital in \tandalurcng - :'
Go said the Solenila:--i
should improle heakh ti::-::::,
"lndeed, rr'e need to in',:::-'e
the capacitl and caPab l::' ::
our health faciliries. 1t l:rli.
like this, rve are temindrc :::
the government should :l ;. .
ensure that our hosPitals,eci: e
much needed uPgrade ailJ : ,: a
ernizadon,' he said
JAVIER JOE ISMAEL