Residents of Rizal province can soon look forward to better and easier access to specialized medical care without having to travel to Metro Manila.
Rep. Fidel Nograles (2nd District) said he will lead the groundbreaking rites for the Northern Tagalog Regional Hospital (NTRH) in Brgy. San Jose in Rodriguez (Montalban) town on April 23, 2021.
“The ongoing pandemic has underscored the need for the government to invest in more health facilities. I hope that the NTRH will help address the gaps in public health that have been laid bare during this pandemic and present hospital crisis,” Nograles said.
The NTRH will be the first national hospital in Rizal province. It will also be the first hospital in Calabarzon 9Cavite-Laguna-Batangas-Rizal-Quezon), a pandemic hotspot region, to have an infectious disease laboratory specifically to address COVID and other contagious viruses.
As a Level II Department of Health (DOH) hospital with a 200-bed capacity, among the services the NTRH will be offering are consultations for pediatrics, medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, and surgery. It will also have a clinical laboratory for blood testing, a pharmacy, and first level x-ray and ultrasound services.
Other services include dental care, family planning, maternity facilities, a general intensive care unit (ICU) for critically ill patients, neonatal intensive care unit, high risk pregnancy unit, and provisions for respiratory therapy.
Aside from catering to residents of Montalban, presently the most crowded municipality in the Philippines with its half-million population, the NTRH will also serve the public healthcare needs of San Mateo, parts of Quezon City, and San Jose del Monte, Bulacan.
Nograles has filed House BIll No. 6524 seeking the hospital’s creation before the imposition of the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) in March last year.
In his bill’s explanatory note, Nograles lamented that the absence of a high-level government health facility meant that the predominantly low-income residents of Montalban, as well as those who live in the nearby areas, have been forced to go to hospitals in Marikina and Quezon City for specialized treatment.
“The distance, travel time, and transportation costs add unconscionable burdens to the poor and discourage them from obtaining the medical services they need,” the bill added.
Nograles also said these hospitals are already heavily congested, which affect their ability to provide quality and competent health services to the poor.
While the bill is still pending in the House Committee on Health, an initial P130 million had been earmarked in the 2021 General Appropriations Act for the hospital’s construction.
“Nagpapasalamat po tayo kay Senator Bong Go, sa One Pacman Partylist, kay Governor Rebecca Ynares, at kay Mayor Dennis Hernandez sa kanilang tulong at suporta sa pagpapatayo ng NTRH. Ito po ay lubos na kinakailangan ng mga Rizaleño lalo na sa panahon ngayon ng pandemya at kakulangan ng matatakbuhan na ospital (We thank Senator Bong Go, the One Pacman Partylist, Governor Rebecca Ynares, and Mayor Dennis Hernandez for their help and support in the construction of the NTRH. This is badly needed by the Rizaleno especially in this time of the pandemic due to the lack of hospitals where people can go to),” the neophyte lawmaker said.