The Pasig City local government held on Monday, March 28, its first quarter local health board meeting as the city continues to develop projects to further improve city health response to residents.
Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto said that despite delays brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, the city government is still on track in implementing its projects that are part of the Universal Health Care program.
"Halimbawa, naipapatupad na natin ang No-Balance Billing sa mga ospital ng LGU (local government unit) lalo na sa Pasig City Children's Hospital (PCCH)-Covid Referral Center, kung saan halos lahat ng pasyente ay wala nang binabayaran (For example, we have implemented the No-Balance Billing in hospitals operated by the LGU, especially at the PCCH-Covid Referral Center, wherein almost all patients did not have to pay for their medical bills)," Sotto said.
He recounted a patient whose hospital bill reached almost P2 million but did not pay a single peso due to the program.
The mayor said that the city also continues to improve its primary health care efforts such as the opening of over 1,300 plantilla positions to rationalize the City Health Department; repair and renovation of almost all health centers; completion of the City Census after being delayed due to the pandemic which will help solve the problem of medicine supply shortage in health centers; pilot testing of Pasig's newest health information management system; and the city being one of the first LGUs to be accredited for E-Konsulta.
He explained that all these achievements coincided with Pasig City's proactive Covid-19 response which includes:
- Convertion of PCCH into a Covid Referral Center
- Construction of a molecular laboratory
- Rizal High School (RHS) Centralized Quarantine Facility
- Covid-19 vaccinations
Sotto assured his constituents that once the pandemic ends, the UHC will be even more enhanced to serve more people both in Pasig and the rest of the country.
As of March, 28, the city tallied 18 active Covid-19 cases. It also recorded 79,153 recoveries and 1,586 deaths.
Pasig City has deployed a total of 1,360,045 Covid-19 vaccines wherein 615,018 individuals have been inoculated with their first dose and 586,825 have been fully vaccinated.