Mayor Abigail Binay on Saturday announced that the city-run Ospital ng Makati has acquired three new ultrasound equipment worth more than P4 million through the Health Facility Enhancement Program of the national government.
In a simple turnover ceremony, Binay expressed her gratitude to the Department of Health for the new medical equipment, noting that these would “significantly improve Makatizens’ access to quality health care.”
The new equipment consist of one unit of Ultrasound 4-D Scanner worth almost P3.5 million, and two units of Color Ultrasound System worth P748,000 each.
Also present at the turnover ceremony held Thursday were Dr. Vergel Binay, OsMak medical director; Second District Representative Luis Campos; Dr. Realinda Pimentel, chairperson of the Department of Radiology; and Dr. Rodney Fernan, Director for Ancillary Division.
Four months ago, OsMak also began accepting patients in need of routine laboratory examinations.
The hospital has been given P2.79- billion budget for this year, with funds for personal services, P951.19 million; maintenance and other operating expenses, P1.47 billion; and capital outlay, P375.13 million.
The laboratory services of the facility include CBC Platelet Count, Peripheral Blood Smear, PT/PTT (Prothrombin time/Partial thromboplastin time), Routine Blood Chemistry, and Arterial Blood Gases (ABGs)-Pulmonary Laboratory. Available tests for Routine Blood Chemistry include Glucose/OGCT; BUN, Creatinine; Blood Uric Acid; Lipid Profile (complete); AST, ALT, AlkPhos; Na, K, Cl, Ionized Calcium; Total Protein, Albumin; HbA1c; Magnesium, Phosphorus; Amylase, LDH; Bilirubin (Total and Direct); Total Calcium;CSF Glucose and Protein; Troponin I; Pro-BNP; and D-Dimer.
Binay said that under the previous administration, the services of the ISO-certified OsMak deteriorated. Its laboratory and medical supplies suffered serious shortages while its major diagnostic equipment and air-conditioning system had broken down and were not repaired.
Mayor Binay said her administration has already taken urgent measures to “restore efficiency and compassion” in the services of the hospital.
Dr. Vergel Binay, OsMak medical director, said certain innovations were put in place in the past few months primarily for the convenience of the patients.
These include the introduction of the Bar Code System in the registration process, which is being done by phase. Old patients already registered in the hospital’s electronic database have been given their own bar code attached to their Yellow Card so that when they come back, their cards will just be scanned to activate their registration.
The new hospital management also established a Self-Registration Kiosk for computer-literate patients, and an Assisted Registration Kiosk for those who need assistance in using the facility.
The facility also have nurses trained to assist and act like physicians, focusing on only two to three patients at a time. Their functions are limited to educating and explaining to patients their condition and following up diagnostic work-ups. Their main purpose is to alleviate the anxiety of patients and relatives while doctors are attending to other patients.
At the Emergency Room, task parallelism, monitoring system and alert status have been strengthened to improve the efficiency of laboratory and radiologic tests on patients, ensure prompt action on test results, and immediate feedback to relatives of patients at the waiting area, respectively.
To facilitate the admission process and resolve overcrowding at the ER, the hospital has opened a Discharge Lounge for ambulatory patients waiting for their relatives to fetch them. It has also provided home conduction for non-ambulatory patients who are Makati residents.
The hospital has been able to list down non-ambulatory patients to be included in the Home Care Service being rendered by the Makati Health Department.