A measure seeking to streamline the expansion of bed space and service capacity in hospitals run by the Department of Health was approved on third and final reading (20-0) by the Senate.
On Wednesday, Senate Deputy Majority Leader Risa Hontiveros—author of Senate Bill No. 1508 or the DOH Hospital Bed Capacity and Service Capability Rationalization Act—welcomed its passage but lamented at how long the legislative process took for a simple need.
“The legislative process takes time, from 21 months to three years, and it cannot keep up with the needs of DOH hospitals, more than half of which are currently operating beyond 100 percent capacity, averaging about 136 percent, far from the set standard occupancy rate of 80 percent to 85 percent,” she said.
With the measure, which is now pending in the House of Representatives, Hontiveros hopes the need for patients to wait and receive care in hospital hallways will be eliminated, and at the same time prevent doctors and nurses from working double shifts to address overcrowding.
The DOH will be authorized to set and adjust the authorized bed capacity and service capability of hospitals under its supervision based on population growth, disease patterns, and health planning standards without needing new laws for each adjustment.
These decisions will depend on the Philippine Health Facility Development Plan, hospital modernization plans, demographic projections, epidemiological data, workforce needs, existing health networks, and national licensing standards.
Any adjustments must include mandatory consultations with healthcare provider networks to ensure alignment with provincewide and citywide systems under the Universal Health Care Act, and they cannot result in creating a new hospital, closing one, or transferring ownership or management without a law passed by Congress.
Funding for capacity adjustments will be included in the department’s program based on the development plan and hospital modernization strategies and will be reflected in the annual General Appropriations Act subject to the regular budget process.
“It is difficult to provide quality service when there are not enough beds and doctors and nurses are exhausted from treating so many patients. This bill helps ensure that healthcare is both accessible and of good quality,” Hontiveros said.
