Senator Christopher “Bong” Go, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Health, urged the Department of Health to step up plans to provide better health services to poor patients.
Among those mentioned by Go is the continuing operations of Malasakit Centers, the establishment of more Super Health Centers in strategic locations nationwide, and the proper implementation of the recently enacted Regional Specialty Centers Act.
The senator also appealed to the DOH to ensure that indigent patients are given the utmost attention in public hospitals.
He cited a recent department memorandum signed by (DOH) Secretary Teodoro Herbosa instructing medical center chiefs to ensure that all patients must be accorded the available services in Malasakit Centers.
The Malasakit Centers consist of various agencies offering medical assistance programs including the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), DOH, Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), and Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO).
These centers were institutionalized under Republic Act No. 11463, principally authored and sponsored by Go. According to DOH, more than seven million
indigent patients have already benefitted from the 159 Malasakit Centers established nationwide.
Go also noted the importance of Super Health Centers, which serve as primary care facilities offering a range of services including consultations, laboratory tests, and minor treatments.
These health facilities in communities aim to provide early detection of diseases and also decongest hospitals by providing immediate medical care.
Go said free consultations handled by municipal health offices, LGUs, and PhilHealth through its Konsulta program can be facilitated in Super Health Centers.
Services offered in Super Health Centers include database management, out-patient, birthing, isolation, diagnostic (laboratory: x-ray and ultrasound), pharmacy and ambulatory surgical unit. Other available services are eye, ear, nose, and throat (EENT) service, oncology centers, physical therapy and rehabilitation center and telemedicine.
Go was instrumental in pushing for adequate funding to ensure that more Super Health Centers are established across the country. Some 307 Super Health Centers were funded in 2022 through Go’s initiative and with the help of LGUs, DOH and fellow lawmakers, and 322 more Super Health Centers in 2023.