Senator Sonny Angara said the establishment of specialty hospitals is timely and doable.
With this, he vowed to push for the passage of a law that would provide Filipinos with easier access to specialized medical care, particularly for those who are situated in remote areas.
Angara has filed Senate Bill 93, which seeks to establish satellite specialty hospitals in provinces that are geographically isolated from their regions’ tertiary care hospitals.
These specialty hospitals namely the Philippine Heart Center, Lung Center of the Philippines, National Kidney and Transplant Institute, and the Philippine Children’s Medical Center are all operated by the Department of Health and are all situated in the National Capital Region.
In his visit to the so-called specialty hospitals, Angara said he found that many patients there from far places like Maguindanao and General Santos City.
He said this entails huge expenses for patients and their relatives who need to go to these specialty hospitals for their medical needs.
“We have many provinces that are still underserved when it comes to health services. These are the isolated areas from their regional tertiary care hospitals,” he also said.
Due to this, he said his proposed measure will provide the establishment of specialty hospitals in provinces.
Angara filed the same bill in the 18th Congress and now with the backing of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., he is optimistic the measure will have a better chance of being enacted into law.
In his SONA, the President said medical services must be brought to the people and not the other way around.
The President said the people have benefitted so much from big specialty hospitals like the Heart Center, Lung Center, Children’s Hospital at National Kidney and Transplant Institute.”
Under Angara’s bill, the four specialty hospitals will be required to establish satellite hospitals in identified regions to be managed and operated pursuant to their respective charters.
Prioritization in the selection of locations for the satellite specialty hospitals will be based on the top burden of disease in the region; the legal mandates of laws such as the Integrated Cancer Control Act, Mental Health Act, and the Expanded Senior Citizens Act; and provinces that are geographically isolated from the region’s tertiary care hospital.
Alongside the efforts to put up satellite specialty hospitals, Angara said there is a need to produce more medical personnel, particularly specialists, to serve in these facilities.
One way to address this, Angara said, is through Republic Act 11509 or the Doktor Para sa Bayan Act wherein the state-supported medical scholars will undergo a mandatory return of service at public health institutions, including the specialty hospitals.
As one of the co-authors of the law, Angara said the Doktor Para sa Bayan will serve as a long-term solution to the manpower issues of the country’s public health facilities.
Another initiative of Angara that could also help in addressing this issue is the proposed establishment of hospitals in state universities and colleges (SUC) that offer medical degrees.
Filed as Senate Bill 92 under the present Congress, the proposed Health Facility Augmentation Act will not only increase the hospital bed capacity, but will also provide medical students with the training they require within the SUCs where they are enrolled.
“We would like to see more SUCs offering medical degrees so that more Filipinos who want to pursue a career in medicine would have a greater opportunity to do so wherever they are situated,” Angara said.