Sen. Jinggoy Estarada has sought to upgrade the services and facilities of the Philippine General Hospital (PGH), the largest government tertiary hospital, to allow it to offer better and more services to its patients.
In filing proposed Senate Bill No. 2634, Estrada urged Congress and Malacañang to allot additional funding to the state-run hospital so it can increase its current 1,500 bed capacity to 2,200 beds and hire additional workforce, such as doctors, nurses, and support personnel, to complement the added number of patients.
Estrada stressed that government must ensure that the PGH provides high-quality medical and healthcare services to the people, especially the marginalized sector.
“The recent fire incidents that hit the hospital have made us realize the sorry state of PGH.
Katulad ng libo-libong kababayan natin na umaasa sa serbisyo ng PGH na karamihan ay mga indigent patients, nangangailangan na rin ng PGH ng agarang atensyon ng Kongreso at pamahalaan (Like the thousands of our countrymen who rely on the services of PGH, most of whom are indigents, the PGH needs immediate attention from Congress and the government),” Estrada said.
The senator noted that the PGH has been operating beyond its capacity for decades now, and has been dealing with overcrowding and extended patient waiting time which has adversely affected its delivery of medical services to sick people, especially the poor, the elderly and persons with disabilities.
Data gathered by Estrada’s office show that PGH serves over 600,000 patients every year.
Also under SBN 2634, the senator tasked the Department of Budget and Management to include the necessary amount for the implementation of the measure in the annual national budget.
He also said that the additional new positions to be created under the measure shall be determined by the PGH director in coordination with the DBM and the Civil Service Commission.
“Investing in people’s health is important in order to provide ordinary Filipinos greater access to world-class and affordable tertiary hospital care,” Estrada said.
