The 37-member Quezon City council has passed a measure providing free laboratory services to indigent residents.
Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte, the council’s presiding officer, backed Ordinance No. SP-2686 or the Quezon City Clinical Laboratory Ordinance, approved in response to the lack of access of poor residents to free and quality health services.
“Clinical laboratory services in private clinics and hospitals are usually expensive so we thought of putting up our own laboratories in our public health centers for our indigents,” the vice mayor said.
According to Belmonte, the city-operated clinical laboratory services “will contribute to maximizing interventions to improve the health and quality of life” of every city resident.
The clinical laboratories shall provide hematology, clinical microscopy, serology and immunohematology, clinical chemistry, and creatinine and electrolyte tests.
Meanwhile, a 30-percent discount on laboratory package services shall be granted to registered senior citizens, solo parents, and persons with disabilities, while a 20-percent discount goes to permanent city hall employees and their dependents.
