Go pushes expanded health system capacity

SEN. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go has welcomed ongoing efforts by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to address the constraints on the capacity of the health care system to provide quality care for the Filipinos amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Go, chairman of the Senate Committee on Health and Demography, made the remark during the turnover ceremony held on Wednesday for the new National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI) Modular Hemodialysis Facility and dormitory.

The senator has earlier appealed to concerned agencies to fast track the construction of additional modular hospitals equipped with isolation facilities and intensive care unit beds in order to address the rising number of Covid-19 cases in the country, especially in Metro Manila and neighboring provinces.

“I laud the continuing efforts of the government to provide more isolation facilities for people with mild and moderate Covid-19 cases; however, the need for more facilities that can handle severe and critical conditions must also be considered,” he stressed.

Since his initial appeal, the DPWH has completed the construction of seven modular units equipped with 148 beds in Metro Manila while an additional 14 modular units with 308 beds are under construction. The department has completed a total of 662 units of health facilities with 24,513 beds nationwide as of the end of April.

The senator, in his message, expressed his anticipation for the further enhancement of the NKTI’s facilities and services. He reiterated his and President Rodrigo Duterte’s commitment to capacitate the NKTI to perform liver transplants and provide patients better pre-operative and post-operative care.

“As we know, for the past years, Filipino pediatric patients have been going abroad for liver transplants, President Duterte and I have been assisting children with biliary atresia who need to undergo liver transplant abroad,” said Go.