THE Department of Health (DOH) is set to start the construction this month of a medical specialty center in Clark in Pampanga that will serve the needs of patients in Central and Northern Luzon, Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa said yesterday.
Herbosa, in a briefing in Malacanang, said the Clark Multi-Specialty Hospital, to be constructed under Executive Order No. 19 that ordered the establishment of an annex of the Philippine Heart Center in the Clark Freeport Zone, will break ground on July 17.
He said the specialty hospital will be similar to public specialty hospitals in Quezon City and will start as a general hospital, then move up to a children’s hospital, a cardiac specialty hospital, and a kidney specialty hospital.
“It will just be like what we have in the North Triangle of Quezon City, wherein you have all the different specialties, and (this time) it will be in that corridor in Clark. That will cover Central and Northern Luzon cases of heart, lung, kidney, and even cancer,” he said.
Herbosa said the DOH has been trying to establish specialty hospitals across the country since the passage of the Sin Tax Law which helped fund programs in the healthcare sector.
He said among those already completed were the Northern Mindanao Medical Center (NMMC) Heart, Lung, and Kidney Center, and Davao City’s Southern Philippines Medical Center which also houses specialty services.
“Many of these places have been built through the sin tax money. We have now eye centers, dermatology centers, and cancer centers but it’s not getting the news. But the services are now available to people outside Metro Manila,” he said.
Hebrosa said the establishment of specialty hospitals in the provinces would help ensure that the health needs of the patients are provided wherever they are located
The establishment of Regional Specialty Hospitals is one of the priority measures of the Marcos government. The bill was ratified by the bicameral conference committee on May 31.
Herbosa said other priority measures of the administration that DOH is pushing for are the Creation of the Virology Institute of Philippines; Establishment of a Medical Reserve Corps; the National Disease Prevention Management Authority; and the Magna Carta for Barangay Health Workers.
