Makati City Mayor Abby Binay announced on Monday, Sept. 5, the reopening of the city's three lying-in clinics as the city government ramped up its efforts to bring quality healthcare to more Makatizens.
The three facilities are the East Rembo Lying-in Clinic located on 23rd Ave., Bgy. East Rembo; Bangkal Lying-in Clinic at 1126 Rodriguez Ave., Bgy. Bangkal; and Guadalupe Nuevo Lying-in Clinic, along La Consolacion St., Bgy. Guadalupe Nuevo.
Binay said the lying-in facilities are open 24/7 and are accepting pregnant women under the following categories: Low-risk pregnancy; mothers aged 20 to 34 years old; those who are expecting their second to fourth child; those who are 37 to 39 weeks pregnant; and those who have no previous record of undergoing surgery in the ovaries or any complications during pregnancy.
She added that those who are already on their labor by more than 4 cm will be admitted in the facilities where both mother and child will undergo 24-hours of observation.
Newborn babies will also undergo newborn screening before being discharged from the hospital to ensure that they are healthy. Meanwhile, babies who have problems can stay in the facility for a couple of hours.
Aside from the pregnancy services, the lying-in clinics also offer seminars on family planning and correct birth spacing.
On Aug. 19, the Department of Health (DOH) recognized one of Makati's barangay health centers as a primary care facility after passing the standards set under the Universal Health Care Act.
Binay said the Palanan Health Center, located in Barangay Palanan, has been issued a license to operate as a primary care facility by the agency, making it the very first 24/7 health center in Metro Manila to receive the license. The Palanan Health Center was established in 2014.
According to the city government and the DOH, the criteria for obtaining the license include patient rights and organizational ethics, patient care, leadership and management, human resource management, information management, safe practice and environment, performance, facilities, public access to information, and equipment and instruments.
“Primary care facilities are essential, particularly in times of crisis such as the Covid-19 pandemic, because these centers provide the most inclusive, accessible, affordable, and efficient approach to enhancing people’s health,” Binay said.
“Palanan 24/7 will serve as the model for other barangay health centers in Makati to make health services more accessible to Makatizens. We are planning to upgrade other health centers soon so these can operate as primary care facilities,” she added.
The Palanan Health Center has a clinical laboratory and pharmacy. It also provides dental services, maternal and child care, immunization, nutrition counseling, communicable and non-communicable disease prevention and control, reproductive health and family planning, tuberculosis prevention and control, minor surgical procedures, and elderly care.
The mayor explained that the city government is currently in the process of obtaining a license from the DOH for the barangay health centers in Barangays Pitogo and Tejeros to operate as primary care facilities.
Makati City now has 27 health centers located in different barangays except for the six villages.