DOH to build 28 healthcare facilities for poor Filipinos by 2028
The Department of Health (DOH) is planning to build 28 primary health facilities nationwide by 2028 to make healthcare accessible to millions of poor Filipinos.
According to Health Secretary Ted Herbosa, the project, dubbed National Ambulatory and Urgent Care Facilities, also aims to decongest big public hospitals across the country.
"We will create these modern facilities for the poorest. It's very important to focus on primary care, and our idea is to decongest large public hospitals," Herbosa said in Filipino during the recent press briefing.
"This is the pivot of the DOH: bringing primary healthcare closer to our citizens," he added. The said primary health facilities will be built in state colleges and universities with medical schools.
Herbosa added that he’s expecting to open five fully functional health hubs in 2024.
In the meantime, he also proposes the use of container vans to transform into temporary health facilities while waiting for the completed permanent facilities.
Potential partners in Batangas, Tacloban, and Bicol have expressed their interest in the construction of the health hubs, according to Herbosa. He also added that the facilities may be built on land lent to DOH by institutes like state universities.
"Bago ako pumunta dito, may dinonate na, in fact, na dalawang hektarya saBatangas. Pero a week ago, lumapit sa main si Mayor Alfred Romualdez ng Tacloban. Meron namang isa, iyong Biocol Medical Center. Ang dami nang lumalapit sa akin, kaya palagay ko hindi lang 28 ang matatayo," he said.
These primary health facilities aim to provide services such as laboratory, X-ray, CT scan, ultrasound, orthopedics, endoscopy, OB surgery medicine, and more to provinces.